Alajos Fiel

Colon Cancer Patient Stories

In August 2008, 47 year old Alajos (Al) Fiel of Jim Thorpe, PA, had his annual medical check-up and everything seemed fine. His blood work showed borderline anemia, and he had minor discomfort under his right shoulder blade, but nothing seemed serious. Al's doctor recommended an ultrasound to see if his gallbladder was inflamed. Just 2 weeks later, Al's life changed forever. On September 11, 2008, test results showed that Al had stage IV colon cancer that had spread to his liver. "I could not believe this was happening," said Al.

"I had no symptoms. I was very active and I never thought about cancer in my life."

Although Al planned to travel to a center with the most experienced oncologists for treatment, he decided to have a colon resection (removal of the colon and the tumor) performed at his local hospital. After recovering from the surgery, Al listened to his friends and went to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia - a decision that was supported by extensive research. "Once I was diagnosed, I reached out to my friends for advice on what to do and where to go," said Al. "One name kept coming up over and over - Fox Chase Cancer Center. I chose Fox Chase and have never regretted my decision - even though the hospital is 80 miles away from home."

"From my first visit to Fox Chase, I knew I was in the right place for my long journey."

"Dr. Steven Cohen, my medical oncologist, said these words to me: 'Don't worry, you are in good hands and we are going to shrink those tumors and get you well. Leave the worrying to us.'" Dr. Cohen recommended that Al begin his treatment that day with a regimen of weekly chemotherapy for the next 6 months.

"Dr. Cohen kept me well informed and he took the time to answer all the questions my family and I had."

During this time, Al reported that one of the hardest things for him was not knowing anything about cancer. "I was 47 and active, living a healthy lifestyle and was always on the go," said Al. "I never even thought about cancer, so when I was diagnosed, I had a million questions - make that 2 million. Dr. Cohen took the time to answer all the questions my family and I had."

One year after his initial diagnosis, in August of 2009, Al's surgeon at Fox Chase, Elin Sigurdson, MD, determined that Al was a candidate for an ostomy reversal procedure (to restore bowel function). "Everything went smooth and I'm here today with no appliances," shared Al. "I couldn't be happier with Dr. Sigurdson and my surgery experience."

"At Fox Chase, I never felt rushed or like I was just another patient. That meant a lot to me and my family."

After 3 months, including 2 intensive care stays, and chemotherapy every week - the good news kept coming for Al. Dr. Cohen kept him and his family up to date on his progress, and was thrilled to report that Al's cancer was "on the run." He was responding well to his treatment and the tumors were shrinking with every CT scan. "It was at this point that my family and I truly believed that we had made the right choice by coming to Fox Chase," said Al. "We had literally made a life-saving decision."

"Fox Chase is a place filled with very caring and supportive nurses and staff."

"I know that Dr. Cohen's skills and knowledge saved my life," said Al, "but in addition to him, I want to give a lot of credit to all the nurses at Fox Chase. From my first day in the infusion room, my family and I could tell that Fox Chase was a place filled with very caring and supportive nurses and staff. Although the infusion room nurses truly saw me at my worst, they still managed to put a smile on my face and gave hope to my family. They held our hands and gave us hope on the days when hope seemed so far away."

"I am now a Stage IV colon cancer survivor and become one step closer to being cancer-free with every passing day."

Al reports that, "It has been a long road, but with the skill, knowledge, compassion, hard work and heartfelt caring of the Fox Chase professionals, I was able to return to my normal life just 10 months after my diagnosis. I am back to work and I'm enjoying all the things I used to do."

For a brief 11-month period, Al was relocated with his job to Tampa, Florida, and received treatments at Moffitt Cancer Center, before being transferred back to Pennsylvania -- and returning to Fox Chase.

"My treatments went well at Moffitt, but I missed Dr. Cohen and his team, and I kept in touch to make sure they were updated on my status," Al said.  "It was bitter sweet having to leave sunny Tampa, but knowing I would be going back to Fox Chase and to be in the care of the team that saved my life made it very easy of a decision.  It is great to be back with 'My Fox Family.'"

Al still receives treatments every 2 weeks but his cancer has responded so well that it allows him to take breaks from chemo of up to 2 months.

Al concluded, "I am living life as if I had no cancer. I am reclaiming the time cancer has taken from me. I have tried more new things in the 3 years after being diagnosed, than I have done in 10 years prior.  The teams at Fox Chase have helped me and my family navigate the journey of cancer recovery, which is long and full of turns. I credit them for saving my life -- and one day I will be indebted to them for being cancer free."

"If I had to go through this journey again, or be asked where to get cancer care, I would go to Fox Chase and tell everyone else to do the same."