Kelly Kuster, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Author: Kelly Kuster

From Stage IV Diagnosis to Advocate on Capitol Hill

Posted by Kelly Kuster | May 11, 2016 |

I lived the School House Rock cartoon, “I’m Just a Bill!” Ten years ago I spent seven hours in surgery to remove stage IV colon cancer, followed by six months of chemotherapy. That decade-long journey brought me from a fight for my life, to standing with the Speaker of the House on his private balcony with my husband and son. The Pope had stood in that exact spot months before, and a level below is the site of the Presidential Inauguration. How did I get from Milwaukee to living the School House Rock cartoon on Capitol Hill? Responsibility. I...

Kelly Kuster: On Surviving Stage IV Colon Cancer

Posted by Kelly Kuster | Dec 2, 2015 |

A hysterectomy after years of complications from endometriosis hadn’t worked. Kelly Kuster still suffered from abdominal pain and blood in the stool. After meeting with her OB who persisted to discover why her incision wasn’t healing, a biopsy from her vaginal cuff began to give clues. Malignancy was found, although she’d just had all of her female organs removed. Further testing, including a colonoscopy, discovered her stage IV colon cancer. Kelly was rushed into surgery once again to have the cancer removed from all visible organs, with her OB by her side rushing from OR to OR to find...