First colonoscopy revealed diagnosis; last chemo treatment this month

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Jimmy Menz poses for a photo Sept. 26, 2017 at Southeast Cancer Center in Cape Girardeau.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

It was at a routine colonoscopy that Jimmy Menz of Scott City discovered he had colon cancer.

"It was my first colonoscopy," says Menz, who was 64 when the cancer was diagnosed in December of 2016. "Dr. Brent Keller at Southeast did my colonoscopy."

Menz had no warning signs that he had colon cancer, and was experiencing no pain before the diagnosis.

After the diagnosis, Menz began a treatment regimen of radiation and chemotherapy.

"I had 25 treatments of radiation and on those same days that I had radiation, I took eight chemo pills per day," says Menz. "The treatment took five weeks."

Then, in May of 2017, Menz had colon surgery at SoutheastHEALTH.

"They removed about one foot of my colon." says Menz. "Dr. Nicholas Boston was my surgeon."

Menz began chemotherapy the last week of June and will finish treatment this month.

"Dr. Andrew Dickey is my doctor for the cancer," he says. "I go to the Southeast Cancer Center for treatment once every two weeks."

Menz credits his wife and the staff at SoutheastHEALTH and the Southeast Cancer Center with getting him through the colon cancer treatment.

"My wife, of 42 years, Mary, has been by me every step of the way," he says. "And, the people at SoutheastHEALTH and the Cancer Center have been absolutely great!"

Menz says that he can't say enough about how well treated he was while he was in the hospital.

"I was in the hospital for five days, and I had never been sick before, so I didn't know what to expect," he says. "All of the nurses, nurse aids, even the cleaning staff wanted to do everything that they could to help make me more comfortable."

Menz feels the same way about the Southeast Cancer Center.

"They are really nice people out there," he says.

Menz, who is retired, worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation for 30 years. After he retired from MO-DOT, he worked in the construction business for an additional 14 years.

He and his wife, Mary, have one son, Corey, who is 36, and they have a new grandson, Logan, who is six weeks old.

Menz says that his favorite hobby is camping.

"I just love the outdoors," he says.