When Bryce Ramsey first noticed on-and-off blood in her stool in her 20s, it didn’t alarm her too much.
She thought the bleeding was due to hemorrhoids caused by either larger bowel movements or childbirth; she had recently given birth to her son, Ashton, who weighed over 10 pounds.
She also increasingly felt fatigued, but had an explanation for that, too: she was a registered nurse at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “I’m tired all the time, but I can justify that, as I work 12-hour shifts,” Ramsey, 40, told Business Insider.
By 2019, when the bleeding got worse, she scheduled an appointment with a gastroenterologist.
Despite Ramsey only being 33 at the time and having no known family history, her GI found blood in her stool — one of the most common symptoms of colon cancer — too concerning not to schedule her for a colonoscopy.
Weeks later, Ramsey was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.
“I kind of was in shock but it didn’t really sink in,” she said. She called Mickee, her then-boyfriend (now-husband), to break the news. “I was just like, ‘Okay, well, we’ve got to get in there and get it out and move on.'”
She worked throughout chemo
After Ramsey’s colonoscopy, she learned she had a polyp that was too large to remove during the procedure. She was scheduled for an appointment with a general surgeon, who diagnosed her with colon cancer. Ramsey learned that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
The surgery, performed in November 2019, removed 3 feet of Ramsey’s colon and 13 lymph nodes. Before she could start her next phase of treatment, Mickee — who was friends with the surgeon — asked for a favor: could they postpone her treatment by a few weeks so he could trip to New Orleans?
In January 2020, newly-engaged Ramsey began two types of chemotherapy at once: IV and oral. Ramsey continued to work all throughout chemo. At that point, she was a branch manager for a home health agency. She said she took her computer with her to chemo appointments.
The oral chemo led to Ramsey developing severe side effects and losing 17 pounds. “I got really, really, really sick because of that,” she said. She also developed cold sensitivity in her fingers. “I had to wear gloves or use a potholder to open my car door,” she said, and drinking cold water felt like “blades were in my throat.”
Ramsey said her son and her recent engagement helped her figure out her “why” for staying strong during treatment. “I was determined no one else was going to raise my little boy but me,” she said.
A surprise pregnancy months after treatment
Before starting chemotherapy, Ramsey was offered fertility preservation services, as chemotherapy can impair fertility.
Because Ramsey and Mickee were in a blended family that included Mickee’s children, Ramsey declined. She also didn’t use birth control.
A few months after finishing chemo in March 2020, Ramsey learned she was pregnant. At first, she was worried about her baby’s health: “I’m a complete nervous wreck that I’m going to give birth to a little baby Transformer or something,” she said.
Still, she felt comforted by a dream she had before her cancer diagnosis. “I’m a very spiritually faith-based person, and I had a dream,” she said. “The Lord told me there was going to be another baby, and his name was going to be Luke or Lucas.”
Ramsey named her son Emree Lucas-Ray Ramsey. She said his name means “‘strong ray of light,’ which couldn’t be any more perfect than from the situation that he came from.”
Genetic testing helped her family get diagnosed with colon cancer, too
After she was diagnosed with colon cancer, Ramsey learned about genetic testing for mutations that could predispose one to cancer. Ramsey decided to do it, and learned she had Lynch syndrome, a symptomless, inherited condition that increases her risk of developing colon, uterine, and ovarian cancer.
Now in remission, Ramsey gets yearly colonoscopies, scans, and bloodwork. She also had a hysterectomy last year, unrelated to cancer, that she said makes her extra relieved because it removes her risk of developing uterine and ovarian cancer as a result of having Lynch syndrome.
Since learning she has Lynch syndrome, Ramsey begged her family members to get cancer screenings. “I was the whistleblower,” she said. As a result, she said her brother caught his colon cancer at stage 1, her father now has a colostomy bag from his own colon cancer treatment, and her aunt learned that what she thought were gallstones were masses in her colon and liver.
When Ramsey’s sons reach their 20s — the recommended age to start testing for Lynch syndrome — she hopes they’ll get tested, too.
Ramsey, who was crowned Mrs. Mississippi Plus America in 2024, used the opportunity to spread colon cancer awareness — something she’s passionate about. Ramsey has also worked with several advocacy groups and lobbied for funding for genetic testing.
“What I say in every one of my speeches is: ‘If it doesn’t seem right, more than likely it’s not,'” Ramsey said. “What’s scary is that, as a nurse, I still wasn’t fully convinced this might be cancer.”
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