Pageant winner with Stage 3 colon cancer at 33…
When she was topped Mrs. Mississippi Plus America final 12 months, Bryce Ramsey instantly knew what her platform can be.
“Hands down, colon cancer awareness,” Ramsey, 39, informed The Post. “At the time, I was a four-year survivor, and I was like, ‘I just want to be able to help as many people as I can.’”
With March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Ramsey can be working with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to share her story. She hopes to encourage people to get screened for the illness — her journey has already revealed that colon cancer is more common in her household than she thought.
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Friends and household had been shocked when Ramsey realized in 2019 that she had Stage 3 colon cancer at the age of 33. Colorectal cancer sometimes impacts people over 50, however there’s been a regarding uptick in diagnoses amongst youthful adults.
Ramsey was not as stunned by the information. As an working room nurse, she knew the significance of listening to her physique.
“In my spirit, I just knew something wasn’t right,” recalled Ramsey, who lives in Canton, Miss.
The first signal
Ramsey initially seen blood in her stool after giving beginning to son Ashton in 2011. She dismissed it as hemorrhoids.
The bleeding grew to become more frequent in 2019 and included mucus, so she underwent a colonoscopy. The examination revealed that she had a 5-centimeter polyp in her sigmoid colon, the part of the colon that connects to the rectum.
Shortly thereafter, docs eliminated 3 ft of her colon and 13 lymph nodes. Because the cancer had unfold to 3 of these lymph nodes, Ramsey was identified with Stage 3 colon cancer.
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She begged her members of the family to get screened. Having first-degree relations (dad and mom, siblings or kids) with colon cancer drastically will increase the risk of developing the illness.
“We found out that we do, in fact, have a significant family history,” Ramsey mentioned.
Her dad had his total colon eliminated upon the invention of a number of precancerous polyps, her brother is set to have a portion of his colon cut out, and her aunt misplaced half of her colon after a tumor was discovered.
Her household addressing their colon cancer is just not the one optimistic final result of this ordeal.
A welcome flip of occasions
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Ten days after surgical procedure, for her birthday, Ramsey attended a New Orleans Saints sport with her then-boyfriend, Mickee.
As time on the clock expired, Wil Lutz kicked a 33-yard subject purpose for the Saints to beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31. Ramsey was a bit distracted attempting to make sure no one unintentionally touched her abdomen as they celebrated — as a result of it nonetheless had staples — so she didn’t discover Mickee starting to suggest.
“He said, ‘I just want you to know I’m not proposing to you because you’re sick. I’ve been planning this for a long time,’” Ramsey mentioned. “He was like, ‘It just threw a little hiccup in our plan.’”
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The couple ended up on the jumbotron, and Saints linebacker Demario Davis retweeted footage of the particular second.
Ramsey began chemotherapy weeks later, in January 2020. As if that wasn’t demanding enough, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Mickee was deployed to the Bronx Zoo to help emergency personnel with ambulance providers.
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The couple wed in June, two weeks after Mickee returned to Mississippi.
On Father’s Day 2020, Ramsey realized she was pregnant.
Throughout her cancer journey, Ramsey had persistent goals of having one other boy, with “Luke” or “Lucas” in his identify. They welcomed Emree Lucas-Ray in February 2021 after Ramsey had a taxing bout of COVID.
“He’s absolutely perfect in every way, and his name actually means strong, shining light,” Ramsey mentioned. “It was just kind of like a breath of fresh air after the whole colon cancer thing.”
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Crowning achievement
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Ramsey has been cancer-free for 5 years as of this month. In April, she passes her crown to a new Mrs. Mississippi Plus America, a title celebrating plus-sized wives within the state.
Ramsey has been utilizing that platform and social media to remind people to schedule colonoscopies.
Colorectal cancer has a 91% survival price when caught early, but one-third of eligible adults aren’t getting screened. A latest examine from the Colorectal Cancer Alliance discovered that almost all Americans would reasonably do just about anything.
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Adults at average risk are inspired to start screening at 45, whereas these with a household historical past like Ramsey probably need to get examined earlier and more typically.
“I just want to spread awareness,” she mentioned, (*3*)
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