Sheri Shaw James got diagnosed with stage three cancer at an old age, recovered completely from it, and asked two of her oncologists to walk her down the aisle at her wedding!
Van Karlyle Morris, one of those oncologists, says “We get a lot of hard questions as oncologists, but this was probably the easiest one to answer,” he said.
Shaw had rectal bleeding a few months before she was diagnosed, but her doctor said it was “very benign,” and that she didn’t “have to worry about it.” In February, 2021, she was diagnosed with stage three cancer, cell sarcoma of the rectum. Just two months before, she and a 77 year old man named Bill were dating. They had met online in 2020, and quickly became friends, according to The Washington Post. Bill had said that he really wanted to travel, so when Sheri got diagnosed with cancer, she told him that it was “time to break up”, as she knew cancer would change her life with all of the treatment. But Bill refused to let her break up with him because of a disease. What a sweet relationship.
“Cancer was the last thing on my mind because I’d recently had a normal colonoscopy,” said Shaw, a retired nurse. “It was shocking to get such a serious diagnosis.” “I wasn’t necessarily looking for romance,” said Shaw, who had been twice divorced. “But of all the gentlemen I’d met, Bill seemed like the one who would be my friend for the rest of my life. I always felt comfortable with him.”
The treatment for this diagnosis started at the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. James was with Shaw all throughout the treatment. The first treatments were radiation, and chemotherapy, THE WEEK wrote. “She was so incredibly courageous and wouldn’t give up,” James said.
According to THE WEEK, Shaw quickly grew close to her oncologists, the ones she would soon ask to be a part of her wedding, Holliday and Morris, sharing stories with them about her personal things, like her life and family. “Dr. Holliday shared stories about her four children, and I shared stories about my five grandchildren,” Shaw
said. “We bonded through that and my trust in her continued to build.” This was the “lowest point” in her life, she said, and they were there through the fatigue and vertigo and nausea. “There is such a deep connection you feel to the people who are with you at the lowest point in your life,” She said. “We became partners in getting through it.”
She received infusion chemotherapy at the hospital once a week, as well as getting radiation five times a week, and chemotherapy through a “personal pump” for the same amount as the radiation. “I’d drop her off every morning and pick her up every night at 7 or 8,” James said. “Sheri was exhausted, but she was also determined. That’s when I really fell in love with her. She was so incredibly courageous and wouldn’t give up.”
“We are in control of our own medical care, and if a physician tells you something and you don’t feel comfortable with it, you need to talk with them again,” she says.
Four months later, after exhausting treatments, and driving with James to and from the hospital frequently, the doctors declared her cancer-free. A little while later, James proposed to Sheri, and she said yes.
“It took a lot to reach this moment, but I didn’t do it alone,” she said. “I’ll feel a special connection with the people who gave me a second chance for the rest of my life.”
Van Karlyle Morris, one of those oncologists, says “We get a lot of hard questions as oncologists, but this was probably the easiest one to answer,” he said.
Shaw had rectal bleeding a few months before she was diagnosed, but her doctor said it was “very benign,” and that she didn’t “have to worry about it.” In February, 2021, she was diagnosed with stage three cancer, cell sarcoma of the rectum. Just two months before, she and a 77 year old man named Bill were dating. They had met online in 2020, and quickly became friends, according to The Washington Post. Bill had said that he really wanted to travel, so when Sheri got diagnosed with cancer, she told him that it was “time to break up”, as she knew cancer would change her life with all of the treatment. But Bill refused to let her break up with him because of a disease. What a sweet relationship.
“Cancer was the last thing on my mind because I’d recently had a normal colonoscopy,” said Shaw, a retired nurse. “It was shocking to get such a serious diagnosis.” “I wasn’t necessarily looking for romance,” said Shaw, who had been twice divorced. “But of all the gentlemen I’d met, Bill seemed like the one who would be my friend for the rest of my life. I always felt comfortable with him.”
The treatment for this diagnosis started at the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. James was with Shaw all throughout the treatment. The first treatments were radiation, and chemotherapy, THE WEEK wrote. “She was so incredibly courageous and wouldn’t give up,” James said.
According to THE WEEK, Shaw quickly grew close to her oncologists, the ones she would soon ask to be a part of her wedding, Holliday and Morris, sharing stories with them about her personal things, like her life and family. “Dr. Holliday shared stories about her four children, and I shared stories about my five grandchildren,” Shaw
said. “We bonded through that and my trust in her continued to build.” This was the “lowest point” in her life, she said, and they were there through the fatigue and vertigo and nausea. “There is such a deep connection you feel to the people who are with you at the lowest point in your life,” She said. “We became partners in getting through it.”
She received infusion chemotherapy at the hospital once a week, as well as getting radiation five times a week, and chemotherapy through a “personal pump” for the same amount as the radiation. “I’d drop her off every morning and pick her up every night at 7 or 8,” James said. “Sheri was exhausted, but she was also determined. That’s when I really fell in love with her. She was so incredibly courageous and wouldn’t give up.”
“We are in control of our own medical care, and if a physician tells you something and you don’t feel comfortable with it, you need to talk with them again,” she says.
Four months later, after exhausting treatments, and driving with James to and from the hospital frequently, the doctors declared her cancer-free. A little while later, James proposed to Sheri, and she said yes.
“It took a lot to reach this moment, but I didn’t do it alone,” she said. “I’ll feel a special connection with the people who gave me a second chance for the rest of my life.”
