Getting a helping hand:Devola resident receives donation for cancer treatment

TUCSON, Ariz. – A Washington County resident received good news on national television Friday morning.

During the "Today Show's" Third Hour, which took place at the Cologuard Classic golf tournament sponsored by Exact Scientists at La Paloma Country Club in Tucson that raises funds for colon cancer awareness, Devola residents Shawn Farrah and his wife Deana Farrah received a donation to help with Shawn Farrah's cancer treatment. Shawn Farrah was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017 at the age of 45.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer, starts in the colon or rectum and the rate of this cancer has decreased in older adults but has increased by one to two percent a year since the mid-1990s for people younger than 55.

During the show, Third Hour news anchor Craig Melvin introduced the Farrahs and Colorectal Cancer Alliance CEO Michael Sapienza during the show. Melvin lost his 43-year-old brother to colon cancer in 2020 and is a supporter of colorectal cancer screening, according to the "Today Show" website.

Melvin is a volunteer board member of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

Sapienza announced that the Colorectal Cancer Alliance has started Project Cure CRC and during the next two years the organization plans to distribute almost $100 million in research funds to end colorectal cancer.

The Farrahs talked about the challenges of getting cancer treatment. Shawn Farrah said he has to travel four hours round trip to Columbus for every chemo treatment and doctor's appointment in Columbus for his cancer treatment. Deana Farrah said that there is a lot that goes into the cost of cancer treatment that people don't know and as soon as they get caught up there is another hospital stay or other cost.

Sapienza said that the Colorectal Cancer alliance has many partners that help it and that one of those partners heard about what it takes to get cancer treatment for patients like Farrah and they wanted to help.Sapienza told the Farrahs that its partner Expedia Inc. is donating $10,000 to them to help cover their travel expenses. The Farrahs expressed their gratitude on the show for the donation.

Shawn Farrah told the Marietta Times that he often participates in interviews for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, so when they asked him and his wife to come to Tucson it was not a surprise.

What was a surprise was the donation. He said he and his wife had no idea that (Expedia) was going to award the money.

"We were really excited," Shawn Farrah said about the donation. "It was really unexpected."

He said the money will be used to help with medical, transportation and other expenses.

Shawn Farrah wants people to know that getting screened for colorectal cancer when a person is 45 or older is important. He said that is the recommended age for colon cancer screening now.

According to Shawn Farrah, he was diagnosed with colon cancer when he was 45. At that time the recommended age for screening for colon cancer was 50. The only reason he went to the doctor to get checked was he was experiencing symptoms, he said.

He said the cancer had spread to his liver by that time. He had to undergo surgery for the colon cancer, and a separate surgery for the liver cancer after eight months of chemotherapy.