Cancer and Clinical Services Patient Stories

Like many others, Charles Martin hadn’t had a physical since joining the military. He was in his 50s, and as a body builder, he didn’t think he had any current health issues. Even after having some symptoms, but not knowing they were associated with colorectal cancer, it took some prompting from his family and a close friend for him to get an at-home testing kit for colorectal cancer. “But I left it on the shelf for weeks,” he says. “And then when I finally did test, I did it wrong and they had to send a second one. After that test is when I got a call telling me to get to the doctor for a colonoscopy.” It was during that procedure that Charles’ doctor was able to remove two of three growths. The one left behind was in his rectum, and it was about 10 millimeters in size. Next came MRIs and other testing, and Charles assumed he’d soon start treatment.

Yet months passed.

“All this happened during COVID,” he says, “but my doctor — who was not from Ohio State — just disappeared. I wasn’t told anything.

“I finally decided I couldn’t live like that anymore, so I called The James and was blessed enough to get Dr. Kalady, one of the best in the business.”

Charles explains that he was “mentally shut down” when he met Matthew Kalady, MD. “I told him I didn’t want an ileostomy bag. I saw him on a Monday, and he promised to call me by 7:15 that Wednesday evening to tell me whether that would have to be part of my treatment plan. He called at 7:13.” That phone call — as promised — confirmed that Charles was in the right place.

“Everything at The James was just completely different,” he says. “Dr. Kalady was always plain about things; he didn’t sell me any dreams, but that man cares about my mental health, and he was really concerned about my lifestyle after treatment. He explained why I needed an ileostomy to let my new bowel connection heal for a while and that it was only temporary. Eleven days later I was in surgery.”

It was a month after that when the previous doctor finally called. “I told him I had already had surgery and had an ileostomy bag in place,” Charles says.

Charles didn’t require any chemotherapy or radiation, and his ileostomy bag was eventually removed. He’s back in the gym, and he’s also a community champion for getting regular colonoscopies. “This isn’t a Black-only disease, but our community is disproportionately impacted,” he says. “I never miss a chance to talk to someone about getting tested.

“My life was changed, and this disease humbled me and made me want to help others. I’ll go to the barber shop or the grocery store and tell anyone and everyone, ‘Have you been checked?’ Then I follow up with my own slogan: ‘You can lay on your side or take the slow ride; it’s your choice,” and I tell them ‘People didn’t quit on me, and I’m not quitting on you — get your colon checked.’”

And then the conversation loops back to Dr. Kalady. “I have a real love for him and for everyone at The James,” Charles says. “It’s personal to them, and they don’t make you feel like you’re just going through a turnstile. They do everything like they care, because they do.”