Why Musician James Casey Wants Black Men to Get Screened for Colon Cancer
Key takeaways:
At 38, musician James Casey had a large tumor blocking his colon, which turned out to be cancerous.
He was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Though his prognosis is good, he continues to get chemotherapy.
Since Black men are at higher risk for developing colon cancer and dying from it, James encourages people to be screened to get regular colonoscopies.
The first time James Casey went to the emergency room for an agonizing pain on the right side of his abdomen, the emergency room doctor told him he had colitis and sent him home with antibiotics.
The second time, James recalls, a different doctor stuck with that diagnosis and seemed skeptical when James told him how much pain he was in.
But the third time, James was rushed into emergency surgery to remove a large tumor that had completely blocked his colon.
“The tumor had been leeching my energy for the past 10 years,” says James, an acclaimed musician and saxophonist for the Trey Anastasio Band. “It makes a lot of sense, looking back.” Still, having a cancerous tumor is not something he would have ever suspected as he was touring with his band, dividing his time between New York and Los Angeles.
At 38, he was healthy, with no reason to think he was at risk for colon cancer. “I didn’t know anything about colon cancer at all until [Black Panther actor] Chadwick Boseman died,” James says.
But overnight, he became part of a club he never wanted to join — a club of otherwise healthy, vibrant Black men fighting a disease that too often sneaks up on them.
Mistaking the signs of colon cancer
“I’m a positive person by nature,” James says. He always finds the bright spots. “Had I not been otherwise healthy, had I not had insurance, there is no way I would have been fine,” he says.
His attitude of gratitude definitely helped him heal, but the whole experience was harrowing.
James was just coming off a gig in Denver in the fall of 2021 when his stomach started to feel off. “I thought maybe it was the elevation,” he says. By the time he got back home to New York, he thought he had appendicitis. “The whole right side of my abdomen was in pain and felt like it was growing.”
The multiple emergency room visits frustrated James because the pain was unbearable. The right side of his belly became so distended that he could see it, and he was nauseous.
When doctors finally found the tumor on the third visit, there was no time to wait. “There I was, back in the hospital, getting emergency surgery on a tumor I didn’t know I had.”
Surgery, chemotherapy, and a positive prognosis
James says his doctors think they got all of the tumor. But since they also detected some cancer in his lymph nodes, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.
After a round of oral chemotherapy and infusions, his scans were clear. But then, at the end of 2021, a scan showed a small trace. “A little bit of something, somewhere,” James says. So, he’ll need to do another round of chemo.
“It’s still looking really good for me,” he says. “I’m just trying to do what they tell me to do.”
James has been trying to work as he is able. But it’s difficult to plan when he’s not sure what the scan after the next round of chemo will show. “It feels like there are so many uncertainties right now.” Plus, this is all under the backdrop of COVID-19, which has been brutal for the live music industry.
James’ team of managers and promoters has sprung into action to help him. He wonders, though: How do people get through an ordeal like colon cancer when they don’t have the kind of support he has?
Colon cancer screening could save another Black man’s life
James never thought he had much of a family history of colon cancer. But he did find out that his mother’s father had had both colon and prostate cancer. “It wasn’t something we talked that much about,” he says. So, he encourages people to learn their family history.
Colon cancer is the second-most common type of cancer, with about 150,000 new cases in 2021. The risk is higher for Black men, who are not only more likely to get colon cancer than other groups but are also more likely to die from it.
Screening plays a huge role in catching colon cancer early. The American Cancer Society recommends that people at average risk for colon cancer get their first colonoscopy at 45. Those with a family history of colorectal cancer or personal history of certain medical conditions may start earlier, in consultation with their doctor.
At 38, James still would have been too young, but scores of other Black men are eligible for screening and he worries they aren’t doing it.
“Tell your family and your friends that colon cancer is a thing we all need to look out for,” James says. “Especially if you’re Black, if you’re male, and if you’re American: Go get tested for this particular thing, because it affects us more than anyone else.”
UPDATE: GoodRx is sorry to learn that James Casey passed away on Aug. 28, 2023. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
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