KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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Jimmie Kinder was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer at age 50. Now, he is encouraging everyone to get screened as doctors see a rise in colorectal cancer among younger people.
Kinder's fight led him to Dr. Marc Roth, the medical director of gastrointestinal oncology at Saint Luke's Cancer Institute.
Dr. Roth said people younger than 45 to 50 are twice as likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer today compared to previous decades. Guidelines show patients should start getting colonoscopies at age 45, and even earlier if they have a family history.
Dr. Roth also said to pay attention to common symptoms regardless of age.
"Things like progressive fatigue and unintentional weight loss that's unexplained by you know, lifestyle changes, abdominal pain, stool changes, most importantly, blood in the stool," Roth said.
Kinder has faced surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and more. His cancer has tried to grow, but early detection and treatment plans were on their side.
"Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, are kind of the historic pillars of treatment and oncologic care. I would say, more recently, we've been exploring additional treatment options, things like immunotherapy," Roth said. "In addition, other procedures like ablations of the lung or the liver have been explored and shown to be effective."
Kinder wears a "Check Your Colon" shirt with pride to encourage everyone to get checked.
"When I first got colon cancer, I had all my friends went and got colonoscopies," Kinder said.
Kinder practices pool with an eye for the perfect shot. His perspective is different today.
"Pool is kind of like my thing," Kinder said. "I picked it up after I got cancer, really. It was a fight from there, and I had to start getting my mind set right," Kinder said.
Kinder knows life is precious today.
"I'm deemed no cure, you know, so at the no cure situation, you know that your time may not be what it's supposed to be," Kinder said. "I think cancer has changed me into a better person."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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