“After 21 years in law enforcement, there wasn’t much to scare me,” said Afvaneldo, but a colon cancer diagnosis did. “I thought I wasn’t gonna be around for my family.”

But his physicians, Pablo Ferraro, MD, hematology and oncology, Memorial Cancer Institute, and Alan Herline, MD, chief, colorectal surgery, Memorial Healthcare System, said early detection enabled a minimally invasive treatment that led to a successful outcome.

“He recovered quite well and went on from there to do additional chemotherapy as part of his cancer treatment,” said Dr. Herline.

“He needed chemotherapy to help prevent cancer recurrence,” said Dr. Ferraro.

“The word chemo is very scary,” said Afvaneldo. “But they have a way of making you feel comfortable.”

“At Memorial, we use a very proactive method for treating our patients after their operations which helps with the recovery process and then helps them to start feeling better faster,” said Dr. Herline.