Vim & Vigor - Spring 2020 - Northside Hospital - 54

EARLY
54

THE IMPORTANCE OF

DETECTION

When doctors found Amber Wickham's cancerous mass early,
the discovery saved her life
BY ZACK HOOPAUGH

E

arly detection is the
best protection.

If Amber Wickham
would have heard these
words in July 2018, she
might not have thought much of it.
She was 39 years old, and colorectal
cancer screenings were the last thing
on the seventh grade teacher's mind.
She and her husband, Gary, were
getting ready for the upcoming
school year-she, a language arts
teacher at Hull Middle School,
and he, a FOCUS teacher for the
gifted program at Level Creek
Elementary School.
Enjoying the last days of summer
break with her son, Benjamin,
and daughter, Isabelle, she would
have also been planning the
family's next trip to their favorite
destination-Disney World. But
just one month later, in August
2018, that would all change.
"I was diagnosed with Stage 3
colorectal cancer," Wickham says,
plainly. "And I was lucky."

An Accidental Find

It all started when Wickham went to
the doctor after experiencing sudden
pain and rectal bleeding. With no
family history of cancer and an
SPRING 2020 VIM & VIGOR

otherwise clean bill of health, doctors
believed the source of her discomfort
was a bad case of hemorrhoids. After
medication didn't seem to help, she
was referred to Kota Venkatesh, MD,
a colon and rectal surgeon affiliated
with Northside Hospital Gwinnett.
"After that, it was like a blur,"
Wickham says.
It turns out that the bleeding was
caused by a fistula, an abnormal
tunnel between the skin and anus,
which is the result of infected
tissue in the anal glands. The fistula
required surgery, and Dr. Venkatesh
also found a suspicious mass and
performed a biopsy.
"If it weren't for the fistula,
the cancer would have gone
undetected," Wickham says. "Early
detection is the most important
thing, and I think this was God's
way of helping us find it early."

The Road to Treatment

Wickham's treatment began
immediately, and it was intense.
The first course of treatment
included chemotherapy and
radiation in an effort to shrink
the cancerous mass. Then surgery
to remove the mass and add an
ostomy bag, 18 weeks of infusions

every other week and, finally,
a reversal surgery to remove
the ostomy.
"It was definitely tough,"
Wickham says. "But my team at
Northside Hospital Gwinnett was
brilliant. My surgeon, Dr. Venkatesh;
my oncologist, Dr. (Mohan)
Krishnamachary; and my radiation
oncologist, Dr. (Gary) Stillwagon,
would all meet regularly to discuss
my case. I credit them with saving
my life."
Beyond hospital walls, Wickham
was also immersed in an outpouring
of love and support from all the
amazing people in her life.
"My mom and husband are
basically saints," she says. "Gary
was both mom and dad to our kids
when I was too tired to be there
during treatment."
Support wasn't just coming
from family, though. Wickham's
friends in the Suwanee Area
Moms Club started a group called
Amber's Army on her behalf.
Her co-workers made shirts and
started an Amber's Army Facebook
page to invite others to encourage
Wickham on her cancer journey.
"One of the most humbling
sentiments I received during
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