From Deseret News archives:
Colon-cancer death serving as a warning
The irony is that Christine Brimley wasn't among the surging mass. She was there for years two and three, when the event was finding itself. She helped a team to the women's title in 2005 and a co-ed team to the mixed-team title in 2006. She even started to work part time for the race organizers, drumming up sponsors and participants.
But that was before the jarring news that her doctor, Edward Joseph Eyring, had to deliver to her last winter: Christine had stage-four colon cancer.
She died a week before this year's Wasatch Back, at age 38.
In her stead, dozens, if not hundreds, of Wasatch Back participants ran in her honor last weekend, fulfilling a promise to Christine that they would help spread the word that she didn't need to die from colon cancer, and neither does almost anyone else.
"We had a conversation (before she died)," said Eyring, a close friend who was also Christine's doctor, "and she talked about leaving a legacy of helping others in this fight.
The key is to get people to submit to colon checks. Normally, that means a colonoscopy after age 50. But that number can go down significantly if there is a family history of colon cancer or if there are unexplained signs.
Four years ago, when she was 34, Christine had an unexplained sign.
She was bleeding and she thought it was hemorrhoids, but tests showed no hemorrhoid bleeding.
Rather than rule out the possibility that it might be colon problems highly unusual for such a young person Christine let it go. In hindsight, it's haunting to realize that if she had substituted just one of her training runs for one day of colon screening, she'd be running in the mountains today, stronger than ever.
Three years later, when she finally was checked, she had more symptoms than you could count.
"Name an organ, and the cancer was in there," said Eyring. "It was as tough a conversation as I've ever had with anyone. No one wants to have that talk."
"Here's a stunningly beautiful person, with a great family, a rich friend to so many people, incredibly fit," said her doctor, letting the sentence hang.
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