Article originally published Fall 2024 in The Monitor magazine.
No One Fights Alone – Doug’s Journey through Heart Procedures & Colon Cancer
After overcoming several health challenges that led him to receive care from many parts of Fairfield Medical Center, Doug McFarland of Lancaster is back to living a full life as a devoted family man and busy general manager.
Following a successful emergency heart valve replacement surgery in 2018, Doug continued to feel like something wasn’t quite right; he still was experiencing shortness of breath and overall fatigue. In 2019, he shared his concerns with his primary care physician, who strongly recommended rescheduling Doug’s screening colonoscopy from February 2020 to November 2019, a decision that Doug credits with saving his life.
“The day of the colonoscopy, I told my wife I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get good news, but it helped that everybody here is thoughtful and insightful in telling you what to expect,” Doug said. “Once the doctor returned after the procedure, he put his hand on my shoulder and asked, ‘Are you ready for a fight?’ and I told him I was.”
Doug’s colonoscopy revealed colon cancer. A scan was scheduled to determine if the cancer had spread, or metastasized, to his liver. “From the moment I got the diagnosis, my care team made sure I knew exactly what I needed to do and how to do it,” Doug said. Not wanting to put a damper on the upcoming holiday season, Doug kept his diagnosis a secret from everyone but his wife.
Early colon cancer often has no signs, but as the disease progresses, symptoms such as a change in bowel habits and stool consistency, blood in the stool or abdominal pain or cramping start to appear. Doug did not notice these red-flag symptoms. Although screening colonoscopies are recommended beginning at age 45, he did not undergo his first until the age of 62.
“A common misconception is that you don’t need a screening if you are not having symptoms, but it’s important to remember that by the time a person starts noticing something going on, the disease is often more advanced and difficult to treat,” said Isabel Manzanillo-DeVore, DO, of Fairfield Healthcare Professionals Gastroenterology.
On the day of Doug’s appointment to find if the cancer had metastasized to his liver, he told his wife he wanted to go to his appointment alone. While frightened about what the results would reveal, he didn’t want to raise suspicion with the rest of his family. While sitting alone in the waiting room at FMC’s River Valley Campus, an FMC employee approached and asked if he could keep him company until he was called back for testing, a gesture that Doug says meant the world to him.
“The employee said to me, ‘No one fights cancer alone at FMC’,” Doug said. “I knew then Fairfield Medical Center was the right place for me to be.”
The results of the imaging were inconclusive about whether Doug’s cancer had spread beyond his colon. Doug’s doctors recommended a hemicolectomy, a surgery to remove part of the colon where it had become cancerous. Doug and his family were on their last day of a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, when he decided it was time to share the news of his diagnosis – and the surgery he was set to undergo the very next day.
“They were upset I didn’t tell them because they would’ve wanted to be there for me from the start, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin their Christmas,” he said. The next morning, the whole crew was at FMC’s Surgery Center for support.
Margaret Sawyer, MD, of FHP General Surgery, performed Doug’s hemicolectomy and also removed numerous lymph nodes for additional testing. Thankfully, the cancer had not metastasized to his liver, and Doug did not need any further cancer treatment after the surgery.
Despite beating colon cancer, Doug’s health troubles weren’t finished. In 2022, he still was experiencing concerning symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue and racing and fluttering in his heart. After appointments with Andrew Stiff, MD, and Alexander Hattoum, MD, of FHP Cardiology, Doug was diagnosed with an arrhythmia, meaning he had an irregular heartbeat that was causing his uncomfortable symptoms.
“Awareness of arrhythmias is crucial because early detection can be the difference between a minor concern and a major health issue. Symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath are key indicators that should prompt an investigation into what is causing them,” Dr. Stiff said.
To treat Doug’s arrhythmia, Dr. Hattoum performed an ablation. This procedure uses extreme heat or cold temperatures to create tiny scars in the heart to block faulty signals that cause the irregular heartbeat, restoring the heart’s normal function.
One month later, using an at-home EKG device, Doug’s heart rate was reading as low as 30 beats per minute. Upon hearing this, Doug’s cardiologist instructed him to head to FMC’s Emergency Department. Once admitted, Dr. Hattoum implanted a permanent pacemaker to keep Doug’s heart from beating too slowly or too quickly. With the procedure successfully completed in January 2024, Doug has found a new sense of vitality.
“When I was back at FMC for my heart troubles, I realized the care and compassion I received for my cancer wasn’t a fluke. From my heart team to my cancer care team, everybody here is just tremendous. It was consistent from top to bottom,” Doug said.
Today, Doug says he feels like a new man. With his busy schedule as general manager of Specialty RV in Canal Winchester and time spent with family, he’s staying active by walking 12,500 steps daily. In June, he was able to fully enjoy a family trip to Norris Lake, Tennessee with his kids and grandkids. “Fairfield Medical Center has changed my whole life,” he said. “I feel like I’m back to normal.”
Now an advocate for staying up to date on important health screenings, Doug’s advice is clear – don’t delay. “I used to be the guy that was reluctant to get a colonoscopy,” he said. “Now, I tell everyone it’s not that bad, and you get the peace of mind knowing you are doing what you can to prevent cancer or catch it earlier.”
To help maintain his active lifestyle, Doug undergoes annual screening colonoscopies to ensure any polyps that may develop are caught before they can become cancerous, along with appointments with Dr. Manzanillo-DeVore. Roopa Srikantiah-Saha, MD, of FHP Hematology/Oncology, manages his cancer follow-up visits and iron transfusions in the FMC Infusion Center to treat his anemia, a complication often associated with colon cancer. He also has checkups with Dr. Stiff to make sure his heart stays healthy.
“I knew I was in God’s hands and good hands with the staff at Fairfield Medical Center,” Doug said. His doctors are pleased at how well he has recovered, but he gives them and the rest of the FMC staff all the credit. “If it wasn’t for Fairfield Medical Center, I wouldn’t be here. I’m alive because of this hospital, and I let everybody know that.”
Learn more about FHP Cardiology and Fairfield Medical Center’s Cancer Care Services.
