Hi, my name is Adam. While I write this, I am 42 years old and living with Lynch syndrome. It's an hereditary gene mutation that approximately 0.35% of the world's population has. For men, it increases the chance of getting certain kinds of cancer like colorectal, digestive and urinary tract, pancreatic, skin and even brain. Some people with Lynch may live a full lifetime without cancer, but that's not my story.

I went to my primary care doctor in November 2024 with concerns of blood in my stool and asked for a referral for a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy in December showed a tumor but there wasn't absolute certainty it was cancerous, although my gastroenterologist was pretty sure. Almost six weeks later in January of 2025 I was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer. I was directed to my oncologist and was determined to be an excellent patient for a fairly new style of treatment called immunotherapy. I have the right kind of protein in me. She said only 2-3% are eligible for immunotherapy treatments. I was so fortunate that a couple months later I was miraculously cured after the third treatment! I still had five more scheduled. I asked my oncologist if I had to do them, she didn't even hesitate to say that I would.

Facing cancer can be like staring the Grim Reaper in the eyes. Cancer creates a fear that only those who have experienced it can truly understand. The hardest part is the waiting—waiting to find out if you really have it, waiting for MRI results, CT results, biopsy results, treatment results, and for your body to return back to normal, if it ever will. Not to mention the menagerie of needles inserted into my arms. Then there’s a different fear and helplessness for those around you. It concerned my wife, my family, friends, and coworkers.

My beautiful wife helped comfort me as best she could and make my life as simple as possible. It was hard for her to watch what I was going through and she felt like she aged a decade last year. My parents and siblings felt helpless as they sat on the sidelines living on the East coast waiting for updates. My mom understood what I was going through the most because she has fought off cancer four times in her life. However I don't know if that made it any easier for, it probably made it worse. My friends would reach out to me often and take the chances they could to see me. They're all raising young kids these days and don't have a lot of free time. As a director of sales at Wheat Ridge Cyclery, it impacted the company due to the time I had to take off and my fluctuating levels of energy. Making others have to step up and carry the weight when I was gone.

Once I knew I was in remission I decided I needed a goal as a sort of comeback. I chose to ride the entire 100 miles around the White Rim of Canyonlands National Park in one day during the month of October 2025. With the help and support of a few friends riding alongside, we finished the loop in 12 hours and change.

Three months after the ride, at the start of the new year in 2026, I began getting sick. January and the months to follow included insomnia, anemia, energy drain, and the breakdown of my body from lack of sleep and the impending, yet still unknown diagnosis. By March, the lack of brain function, sore muscles and joints, being tired every hour of every day, skin rashes, loss of appetite, and the worst night of my life purging over a ten pounds in through the night set the stage for what was to come. What followed was an ER visits the next morning where I got two bags of IV. I struggled to walk from the car to the hospital room. Then I had a home visit for another bag of IV a few days later. I continued to plead with my doctor that something was wrong so I got another blood panel done in addition to other blood tests I had done earlier in the year. This time results came back that caused my doctor to call me the next morning and tell me I had to go to the ER right away, my glucose levels were over 600!

During that three night stay a the hospital I received relentless needles for an IV, blood draws, glucose checks, and insulin injections. Some of the nurses had trouble finding my veins because I had become emaciated. I am normally not the kind of build suitable to weight loss. I looked gaunt and I could see my rib cage in the middle of my chest. I had lost about 30 pounds.

It was determined that my immunotherapy treatments had given me diabetes. It's a rare form that only 0.2-2% of immunotherapy patients get. It's similar to type 1 diabetes and is treated the same way.

Now, a year and a half after my first visit to my doctor with concerns of blood in my stool, I’m learning how to live with type 1 diabetes. Facing the fear that if I make a mistake, I could go into a coma and potentially die, is always present. The sleepless nights and roller coaster of glucose levels are a constant challenge, especially since I’m the most insulin sensitive patient my endocrinologist and nutritionist have ever seen. I think about food in a completely new way. The first thing I thought of when diagnosed with type 1 diabetes was how much I love pizza and pasta and what that diagnosis would mean. I’m also an avid mountain biker and skier, and I worry about how diabetes will change my approach to those activities. Never the less, I plan to hit the White Rim again this coming fall. I'm not one to throw in the towel easily.

Any funds I receive will help reduce the financial burden I have faced, do face, and will face for the rest of my life. The money will go toward diabetes equipment like insulin, pens, needles, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), and pumps, as well as ongoing cancer screenings such as colonoscopies, endoscopies, CT scans, and MRIs. Plus regular visits to my oncologist, endocrinologist, nutritionist, dermatologist, and gastroenterologist. Maybe, if I'm fortunate enough, I might even get to spend some on my next adventure or take my wife somewhere sunny to put our toes in the sand. White Rim awaits and bike snobs like me can always find upgrades. Kinda like that Ti handlebar I've been eyeing.

Life can be hard but it’s also beautiful, and I have so much more living to do. Please give what you can, even $5 adds up fast given the amount of views with no donations, and share with others who can, and please post on your social media. The more exposure, the more potential for funding. From the bottom of my heart and from my actual bottom, thanks for reading and all your donations!

Sincerely and truly grateful,

Adam