Morning Show

Minn. Man Invited To Bare Scar For 'Colonder'

(WCCO) All this month, we're turning our attention to a type of cancer that's completely preventable. March is national colorectal cancer awareness month.

We want to introduce you to a Twin Cities man who is sharing his story of cancer survival through a calendar with a twist.

Just days before his 32nd birthday, Jaimie Mattes of Woodbury, Minn. got the kind of news you never want to hear -- his doctor told him he had colon cancer, a type of cancer typically seen in people 50 or older.

"When I was in the hospital, all I was hearing is that 'You are so young, you are so young.' So that is what we are doing: trying to make people aware," Mattes said. "I have no family history of colon cancer or colitis, which I had for 10 years. It does happen and people need to pay attention to their bodies."

Mattes is now 38 and cancer-free. He wants people to know that colon cancer can strike when you're in your 20s, 30s or 40s. That's what happened to all the people featured in a calendar called a "colondar."

"Right now screening isn't to happen for anybody until you are 50 years old, and that is what the medical profession is saying," he said. "All of these people in this calendar have had colon or rectal cancer and they were under 50 years old."

All the models in the calendar have had either colon or rectal cancer. All of them reveal their surgical scars.

Mattes was selected to be a model for the 2009 "colondar." He will go to New York this summer for a photo shoot. He's the first Minnesotan to be chosen to participate.

Here are medical facts to consider: about 75 percent of colorectal cancers occur in people who have no known risk factors, and about 90 percent of the cases occur in people 50 and older.

"If you have signs and symptoms, irregular bowel habits, bleeding, pain and discomfort, you need to recognize your body and you know something's wrong. And if your doctor says it is just hemorrhoids or it's nothing, you're fine ... find another doctor," Mattes advised. "This disease is preventable. You have a colonoscopy, if they find polyps, they can remove them because they may be pre-cancerous, or you can find them at an early stage and they can save your life or make a difference in your life."

You can help raise money and awareness about the disease at the "Get Your Rear in Gear" walk and run. The 5K is April 13 in Edina, around Southdale.

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