For family man Scott Hancock, the last thing the Arizona native and longtime Cardinals fan expected to hear from his doctor were the words, 'it’s cancer.'
“When he said it, there was really no preparation for that... we were floored,” said Hancock.
In 2018, at age 43, a pain in his side led to a diagnosis of stage four colon cancer. The father of six and grandfather of two then underwent 28 chemotherapy sessions and several surgeries.
Hancock battled, going in and out of remission for the past four years.
“It’s not like you just get cancer and you’re cured, and you’re done, there’s a journey and it’s usually very awful,” said Hancock.
The journey that also sadly struck his 32-year daughter who is now fighting for her life against breast cancer.
Through the pain and sadness, Scott decided to use his experience to hopefully save others.
“Instead of being a victim, I’d rather be a champion in those circumstances and do the right thing, and do something good and help other people,” said Hancock.
So, Scott sat down and wrote a letter from his flagstaff home, formally asking Governor Doug Ducey to declare March colorectal cancer awareness month.
Sure enough, that's just what the governor did.
“I was so excited, I have it framed and everything,” said Hancock. “I just told him I am an unrelenting champion for colorectal cancer awareness and shared my story.”
He now wants to increase the dialogue about early screening, which is now recommended at age 45, instead of 50, as cases in people under 50 have more than doubled in the past 30 years.
Colorectal cancer is something Scott says needs serious attention.
“Colorectal cancer for some reason just doesn’t have it, and it’s the number two cancer killer, and it’s expected to raise to number one by 2030 in people under 50, which is awful,” said Scott.
He has no plans to accept that statistic.
Soon, with his new declaration in hand, he’ll meet with both Senator Sinema and Senator Kelly to urge them and other lawmakers to increase federal funding into colorectal cancer treatment and research.