Yoga Instructor Shows Her Strength Throughout Colon Cancer Treatment

If you ask the average person what someone at risk for cancer looks like, here are some things you might not hear.

Eat healthy. Works 6 days a week. Rarely drinks alcohol. Non-smoker.

All of these words paint a picture of who Heather Sommer is. As a Rochester native, yoga and cycling instructor, and grandmother of two beautiful grandsons, she also uses three other words to describe herself: colon cancer survivor.

“Something was wrong”

Strength and determination have always been ingrained in Heather’s character. After having her first child at 19, Heather worked as an insurance broker to support herself and her daughter before heading off to college. In the years that followed, she earned a degree in psychology and a teaching certificate, married, and earned a master’s degree at Nazareth College.

Eventually, Heather shifted her career focus to empowering others as a yoga and cycling instructor at Compass Cycle + Flow – where she still works today.

In November 2020, Heather noticed sudden changes in her bowel movements around the same time she started having severe cramps in her lower abdomen. As she was 45 at the time, she thought the cramps signaled the early stages of her transition to menopause.

The cramps got so bad that she couldn’t handle them anymore and she went to see her primary care doctor and OBGYN. Her doctors agreed to schedule an ultrasound for her on Monday. It was a Friday, so the wait wouldn’t be too long.

But less than 36 hours later, Heather asked her husband to drive her to the emergency department at Unity Hospital to find relief from the excruciating pain.

“I knew it wasn’t normal for my body,” Heather said. “It was a red flag. I know I can get over the pain, but this pain wasn’t getting better. Something was wrong.

Diagnosis and surgery

After admitting Heather to the hospital, doctors performed several tests and scans, including an emergency colonoscopy, which ultimately led to the diagnosis of a partial bowel obstruction in her lower sigmoid colon. With the help of Koha Le, MDand her team, Heather underwent surgery for a bypass colostomy.

About a week later, doctors confirmed Heather had stage 3 colon cancer, meaning it was in her sigmoid colon and had spread to several lymph nodes.

“I thought I was invincible,” Heather said. “I thought nothing like this could happen to me because I was healthy and active. I barely drank alcohol and never smoked, and ate a lot of fruit and vegetables.

In the days following her diagnosis, Heather took matters into her own hands and moved forward with the help of her medical team to seek advice from Patrick Solan, MD. Together they decided that she would undergo a robot-assisted sigmoid colectomy to remove the diseased potion from his bowel and close his colostomy.

“Heather listened to her body and knew something was wrong, so she asked for help – which is exactly what someone in her position should do,” Dr Solan said. “Fortunately, our colorectal cancer team was able to diagnose it and quickly develop a treatment plan. Cases like Heather’s underscore the importance of beginning colorectal cancer preventive screenings at age 45, as recommended by the US Preventative Services Task Force.

Remission and precautions to take

After her surgery in late December 2020, Heather underwent adjuvant chemotherapy to treat the cancer doctors found in her lymph nodes. As an added precaution, because her father died of bile duct cancer, Heather underwent genetic screening for the cancer.

Doctors described Heather’s recovery as “faster than usual”, which she attributes to her active and healthy lifestyle.

While Heather is currently cancer-free, she undergoes regular scans to ensure she remains in remission. Her journey with cancer means her daughter will begin regular colonoscopy screenings at 35. The U.S. Multi-Society Task Force guidelines recommend anyone whose family is diagnosed with colon cancer to begin colonoscopy screenings at age 35 or 10 years before the age at which the family member was diagnosed.

A cancer diagnosis changes a life. For others who might be going through something similar to her own experience, Heather encourages them to keep a positive attitude as best they can.

“You do what the doctors tell you to do and follow what’s recommended,” Heather said. “For me, staying as physically active as possible has helped. It didn’t prevent me from getting cancer, but it helped me recover faster.