‘I have cancer, but I’m the luckiest person I know’
By Derek Kosmicki, American Family Insurance Personal Lines Planning Manager
“Well, we found a cancer.”
It was Feb. 25, 2019 when the doctor broke the news while I was still waking up from my colonoscopy sedation. There’s probably no good way to tell someone they have cancer, so you might as well open with it.
A couple of days later, after a CT scan, my primary care doctor was hesitant to read the results over the phone — a sign I figured wasn’t positive — so I asked him to just hit me with the facts, which he did:
· Colon cancer grown beyond the intestinal wall.
· Lymph nodes impacted.
· Separate growth on the kidney.
· Potential genetic disorder.
In the coming weeks, I had surgery to remove a third of my colon, 39 lymph nodes (two that were cancerous) and a portion of a kidney. After a week in the hospital and another month to recover from that (which left me with a 6-inch scar on my stomach and an enviable set of 2-pack abs), I began chemotherapy. Three months, six treatments, and countless side effects later, I successfully completed treatment.
I’ve tried to keep a positive mindset through it all, with varying degrees of success. After all, I’m 39 years old with three children under the age of eight — some tears and fears are surely expected. And, I don’t know if/when this cancer may come back. Still, staying positive has helped me realize a few things.
I learned that fear and modesty are terrible reasons not to go to the doctor.
I lived with digestive issues for years, but never seriously pursued them. In fact, the day before my appointment I contemplated canceling out of fear. Who knows if getting a colonoscopy sooner would’ve helped?
What I do know, is that when you are in the hospital for eight days, there’s no such thing as modesty. There are dozens of people at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals who now know more about me and have seen more of me than I could have ever imagined. If you think you may have an issue, go to the doctor.
I am incredibly fortunate.
The amount of support I’ve had from American Family Insurance, especially from my boss, Julie Peetz, and everyone in my department [Personal Lines Underwriting Operations], has been special. From the beginning, they’ve made sure I didn’t have to worry about work, and instead could focus on getting better. It’s meant the world to me and I can’t imagine ever working anywhere else because of it.
Life insurance matters.
I’m very fortunate I met my American Family Insurance agency owner, Chuck Fiduccia, at a district meeting visit a few years ago. I’ve been lucky to meet hundreds of agency owners on similar visits, but only one immediately followed up his handshake and “nice to meet you” greeting with, “How are you doing for life insurance?” Because of him, I haven’t spent a second worrying about my family being taken care of financially if I’m not able to conquer this.
Finally, I realized how truly blessed and lucky I am. It would’ve been nice to have this epiphany without a cancer diagnoses, but better late than never. I really understand what Lou Gehrig meant in his famous speech. He was right.
I have cancer, but I’m the luckiest person I know.
Protect What Matters Most
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. In this blog, Derek shared his firsthand experience with cancer and how his family, coworkers and American Family Insurance agency owner helped him battle through, as did the knowledge he had life insurance.
Life insurance is an easy, proactive and affordable way to financially protect the dreams of those you love. Discover the benefits of life insurance and gain peace of mind knowing you’re protecting what matters most.
