Most people don’t get a T-shirt to commemorate their colonoscopy — but David Hungerford had an unusual, life-changing experience.
The financial adviser from Long Island was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in October 2023 after undergoing a routine colonoscopy at 45. He joined an unfortunate club with a growing membership — people under 50 with colorectal cancer.
“I was shocked,” Hungerford, now 47, recalled to The Post.
The St. James resident had no symptoms and no family history of colon cancer — he had simply gotten a colonoscopy because guidelines suggest that people at average risk start getting screened at 45. Less than 1% of colonoscopies indicate cancer.
Now, Hungerford has become an unofficial cheerleader for colonoscopies, especially with March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
“You have to take care of yourself,” he said. “I learned that in a way — a hard way.”
‘We have a problem’
Hungerford’s wife, Jill, made his colonoscopy appointment upon the advice of a family friend — a gastroenterologist at Northwell Health.
“When I was woken up [after the procedure], I was told that the doctor wanted to see me,” Hungerford recounted. “And I thought, ‘OK, well, he’s a family friend.’ He’s probably just going to say, ‘Everything is good.’ And as soon as I sat down, he said, ‘We have a problem.’”
Scans revealed that a tumor about the size of a small orange was blocking Hungerford’s colon. Surgery was scheduled for the following month.
In the meantime, Hungerford grappled with the weight of the devastating diagnosis. Then he struggled to prepare for the procedure.
He had to ensure his bowels were empty and bacteria-free, but he couldn’t go to the bathroom.
“I started getting nauseous, and I actually started vomiting — what had happened was I was blocked,” Hungerford said. “So I was 100% blocked within 24, maybe 36 [or] 48 hours of the surgery. I started to panic.”
Slow return to normalcy
Dr. David Rivadeneira moved up the surgery at Huntington Hospital and assured Hungerford it was going to be OK.
“David’s tumor was a classic tumor of the colon and rectal area, what we call an adenocarcinoma. This is the type of cancer cell that is most predominant in the intestinal tract,” Rivadeneira, director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Huntington, told The Post.
Hungerford underwent about five months of chemotherapy, from December 2023 through May 2024. He felt energized by the steroids in the treatment and “wiped out” when they wore off.
He also had a colostomy bag, a pouch that collects stool from the body.
“I wouldn’t wish that on anybody,” Hungerford lamented. “[It] was very limiting for someone my age and what I do for my career. You get nervous if you’re in somebody’s house or you’re at work and something happens.”
He ditched the bag when he had his colon reattached in July 2024.
Missed cancer signs
Now, eight months removed from that surgery, Hungerford is reflecting on his onerous ordeal and the signs he might have missed.
He said two of his physicals before his cancer diagnosis revealed he was slightly anemic, though he didn’t feel it.
“This is one of the major signs that we see with patients with colorectal cancer or intestinal cancers in general,” Rivadeneira said.
When a colon tumor bleeds, it depletes the body’s supply of red blood cells and iron needed to produce hemoglobin to deliver oxygen to tissues, leading to anemia.
Hungerford said his hemoglobin was low when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, but he didn’t have the classic anemia symptoms of fatigue, weakness and dizziness.
He had 10 iron infusions to boost his hemoglobin before his tumor was removed.
Looking ahead
These days, Hungerford is cancer-free and his prognosis is excellent, Rivadeneira said.
“People need to remember that colon and rectal cancer is an extremely curable cancer with surgery when caught in early stages,” he noted.
“No doubt that if he had not had the colonoscopy and had waited longer, his symptoms would’ve worsened, he could have possibly perforated or ruptured his intestines, and his overall cancer prognosis would’ve been worse.”
That’s actually Hungerford’s major regret — that he waited 10 months after turning 45 to get the colonoscopy.
“If I had it [right] at 45, I probably wouldn’t have been blocked the morning of my surgery,” Hungerford said. “Just the way it worked out between Oct. 6 and Nov. 2, that thing went from partially blocked to fully blocked.”
Now he proudly wears a T-shirt that reads, “Don’t sit on it any longer — get screened for colon cancer,” and estimates he inspired over 50 people to sign up for colonoscopies by sharing his story on social media.
“I’m just trying to promote the heck out of it,” he said.
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