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Gresh & Keefe - Katie Zereski, 49, colon cancer, Shrewsbury, with Dr. Kimmie Ng, Director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center, Dana-Farber

WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon
WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon
Episode • Aug 24, 2021 • 7m

Katie was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer at 49 years old.

She's a single mom of two children, McKenzie, 17 and Zachary, 13. She's a proud dog-mom to LuLu, the English Bulldog who is 'really the boss of the house.'

She's a marketing executive and general manager for Fitness Asylum. She coaches classes and the bikini competition team. She is a competitive body builder in Fitbody and is dedicated to living a clean lifestyle.

In March March 2021 she was diagnosed with metastatic early-onset colon cancer.

She had no symptoms but  had a 7-day bout of constipation that led her to the emergency room.

She was alone in the emergency room due to COVID restrictions and in a lot of pain. 

She was sent for emergency surgery to 'clear a blockage' that turned out to be a mass. 

She says the first few weeks were hard as she came to terms with the diagnosis and had to tell her children that their mom was sick. 

She was determined to keep things in control:  Her mindset. "I wasn’t going to be living like cancer kicked my ass. Instead, I was going to live as Katie and fight this thing like a boss. I have every bit of faith that I will be cancer-free and repeat this daily and her team. "I knew within minutes of meeting Dr Ng that she was MY Doctor. We connected immediately and I am so grateful to be fortunate enough to have her and her clinical team oversee my care." 

She is in on aggressive course of chemotherapy and will be going to her 10th treatment tomorrow.

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