Matthew Gabourie

In January 2020, Matthew Gabourie, 30, and his wife welcomed their baby girl into this world. Ten months later, Matthew received what he referred to as “the worst news we could’ve imagined.” He was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer.

For nearly a year, Matthew was experiencing symptoms, such as changes in bowel habits and rectal bleeding. “I had been putting off going to a doctor, attributing most of my bathroom issues to a bad diet and too many energy drinks,” he said. As the pain and discomfort intensified, his wife convinced him to seek care. Based on Matthew’s age and lack of family history with colorectal cancer, both he and his doctor predicted it was a hemorrhoid; however, his colonoscopy revealed a diagnosis Matthew and his family never anticipated. “All the worst things possible were running through my mind and it turned out to be the worst thing possible,” he shared.

“The next few weeks were filled with scans, tests, and appointments with various doctors, with each meeting bringing worse news,” Matthew recalled. Originally, the surface of his tumor did not appear malignant, so they needed to gather a full piece of the tumor to accurately determine his treatment plan. After receiving a rectal biopsy surgery at Methodist Hospital | Stone Oak, it revealed the cancer had spread to multiple lymph nodes and his liver. “It was a large rectal tumor, but the size is not a part of the staging system,” said Dr. William Cannon Lewis, colorectal cancer surgeon. “It’s about how deep the tumor invades and whether it spreads to other organs or lymph nodes. The MRI showed the depth and the PET scan showed it had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.”

Currently, Matthew is receiving chemotherapy every 21 days and is roughly halfway through completing his cycles. The goal is for chemotherapy to shrink the tumors enough for targeted radiation, depending on how well his body responds to the treatment. Despite the fatigue and other side effects from the chemotherapy, Matthew still perseveres each day to manage his job as a software consultant, father and husband. “When I tell them I have stage IV cancer, they are blown away,” Matthew shared in reference to his coworkers’ observations.

Since March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Matthew is using his story as a platform to educate his family, friends and coworkers on the importance of recognizing signs and symptoms, as well as scheduling a colonoscopy. “If I had just one person who was affected who could’ve told me this, it could’ve saved my life. I wouldn’t have waited a year before getting looked at,” Matthew shared.

The American Cancer Society recommends people start screening at age 45 due to an increase in colorectal cancer diagnoses for those under 50 years old. According to Dr. Lewis, experts are still determining the causes of rising cases in younger populations, but the strongest correlations are an increase in obesity and sedentary lifestyle. However, he mentioned this was not applicable to Matthew’s case. There are other risk factors to consider, some of which may be inherited, such as family history of cancer. “Age 45 is recommended for asymptomatic and average risk people. Matthew was not asymptomatic though,” said Dr. Lewis. “That is the most important point. If you are having symptoms, you need to get that investigated regardless of your age.”

Matthew and his family are taking his treatment one step at a time. “We do not know what the future holds, while I assume it will have bad days, I can only hope for many more good ones,” he said. After his biopsy surgery, Dr. Lewis made a comment that really comforted Matthew. He recalled him saying, “The only thing that is different now is you have a diagnosis and there is a place to treat it. There is no reason to live life another way. It isn’t a death sentence.” Matthew summarized, “The only difference between October and November 2020 is I got a treatment plan.”