Last year was an emotional rollercoaster for me. In May, I found out I had colorectal cancer after my first colonoscopy. June brought the relief of thinking I didn’t have it anymore, because I had surgery locally to remove most of my colon and my gallbladder.

Then, in July, came the sinking feeling of learning that the cancer had already spread. It was in my liver, too, making it stage IV instead of stage I.

My local surgeon...