Clinical trial and surgery save Scott after metastatic colon cancer diagnosis

Scott Strege was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in late 2011, just a few weeks before his 42nd birthday. Earlier that year, he had begun noticing blood in his stool and was diagnosed with hemorrhoids. By August 2011, the slight cramping he had been feeling in his lower abdominal area worsened.

“The pain was getting to the point that made it difficult to walk,” Strege said. “I made an appointment with a different doctor about this because I was not satisfied with my long-time one.”

His symptoms eventually became so severe that he could not eat or drink for half a day, and he went to the emergency room. There, a CT scan revealed that Strege had a blockage in his colon, which was surgically removed that night.

“The next morning, I was informed they had taken out a tumor the size of a grapefruit and were sending it off to a lab to be tested,” Strege said.

The day after Thanksgiving, Strege received his metastatic cancer diagnosis. The cancer had spread extensively in his liver and was considered unresectable, or not able to be removed by surgery.

“The trouble was figuring out how to actually remove all his tumors, which had spread from his primary tumor in the colon to the liver,” said Dr. Sharon Weber, Division Chief of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery. “Scott had extensive tumors on both sides of his liver, which in many institutions would mean the tumors were not removable and therefore not curable.”

But there was hope. Medical oncologist Michael Eastman determined Strege was eligible for a clinical trial testing a combination of chemotherapy with a drug that cuts off blood supply to tumors. Strege began this treatment in December 2011 and responded very well. After finishing the chemotherapy in March 2012, he was eligible for surgery.

Weber began with a small incision using laparoscopic surgery to remove a tumor that had spread from Strege’s colon to the left side of his liver. To help Strege’s liver rebound to normal function following surgery, the UW interventional radiology staff performed a portal vein embolization, a procedure that reduced blood flow to the right side of Strege’s liver so that the left side would grow enough to compensate for the liver that would need to be removed to clear Strege’s tumors. By the time surgery was over, Weber had removed 75% of Strege’s liver.

After six more rounds of chemotherapy, and an additional surgery to return his colon to normal function, Strege has been cancer-free for 12 years with no recurrence.

“Improving people’s ability to advocate for themselves and decreasing the feeling of hesitancy around clinical trials is crucial,” Weber said. “Both of these things ultimately saved Scott.”

Strege was excited to get back to bowling with his league team when he healed from surgery. He reconnected with Weber in May 2024 and thanked her once again.

“At the stage I was diagnosed, results of the work usually prolong life for a few months,” Strege said. “I was able to thank (Weber) in person 12 years later.”

Weber tells her patients to be open to clinical trials during their treatment and uses Strege’s outcome as a story of hope.

“Scott’s cancer started out as totally unresectable, which meant not curable,” Weber said. “Clinical trials are available in major cancer centers and help us understand what the best treatments are for the next generation of patients. It’s probably because Scott agreed to enter that clinical trial and had such a great response to it that he was able to have his tumors removed and be cured of his very advanced colorectal cancer.”

Weber added, “His entire team was so gratified that such a young and healthy patient had such an amazing response to chemotherapy, which led to our ability to offer this extensive surgery which ultimately cured his cancer.”