Jody Hilton has had stomach issues since she was a child. After years of working with gastroenterologists to find an answer, she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease.
While she was relieved to receive a diagnosis, many of her debilitating symptoms persisted, regardless of lifestyle and dietary changes.
“I hadn’t been feeling good for a few years, and I always chalked it up to my celiac disease,” Hilton said. “Eventually I was so miserable, though, I thought I had another intolerance.”
Hilton met with her gastroenterologist, who recommended a colonoscopy. Although she did not want to do it, she went through with the procedure anyway—a decision that saved her life.
A Routine Screening Reveals Something Serious
On December 19, 2025, Hilton had her first colonoscopy, two days before her 51st birthday. The colonoscopy revealed a large mass measuring five centimeters in her ascending colon.
“I was completely floored when my gastroenterologist told me that I had a large polyp,” she said. “He told me if I had waited, we would be having a very different conversation.”
Hilton was referred to Daryl Ramai, MD, a therapeutic endoscopist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and University of Utah Hospital and the director of third space endoscopy for University of Utah Health.
Ramai is an expert in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), a minimally invasive organ-preserving endoscopic procedure used to remove early gastrointestinal tumors. By avoiding major surgery, ESD offers patients a less invasive treatment option while achieving excellent long-term outcomes, with recurrence rates of less than 1%.
“With the prior resection techniques, we were concerned about significant recurrence rates and obtaining suboptimal pathological specimens,” Ramai said. “With ESD, recurrence is now negligible, and we are able to obtain a perfect specimen that allows for detailed pathological assessment, which guides subsequent patient management. ESD, along with third space endoscopy, truly represents the new frontier in therapeutic endoscopy.”
Choosing a Less Invasive Option
Hilton met with Ramai to discuss her treatment options and chose to go with the minimally invasive ESD approach.
“Dr. Ramai is so amazing, I love him,” Hilton said. “He spent time with me and explained in detail how he does the procedure.”
Hilton’s procedure was scheduled for April 3, 2026. While she was relieved to set a date, she wasn’t sure if she would make it that long. Everything she ate made her even more sick, and she couldn’t get any relief from the constant stomach pain.
“My mental health was hanging by a thread,” she said. “I was just utterly miserable. You can’t be that sick and be OK mentally.”
On February 23, Hilton got a phone call. Ramai’s schedule had opened up, and he could get her in that week to remove the mass. She wouldn’t have to wait until April.
“I cried after I got off the phone,” she said. “Happiest phone call I’ve ever received.”
A New Beginning
Hilton underwent ESD at Huntsman Cancer Institute on February 27, and the procedure was successful. The mass proved to be even larger than initially anticipated, measuring eight by seven centimeters—nearly the size of a credit card—and obstructing approximately half of the colon’s lumen.
"I woke up Saturday feeling like a new person. My stomach didn’t hurt."
Hilton spent one night at University Hospital for observation before heading home. Since the procedure, she has had no stomach pain. “I feel so good, and luckily I have no colon cancer,” she said.
While it was scary to be so sick, she’s grateful for her symptoms. “I’m thankful that I did get sick, because it made me do something about my health,” she said. “I had to figure out what was going on with me. I couldn’t take being sick anymore.”
Now, she is “a thousand percent,” she says. “I feel like a million bucks.”
"With ESD, recurrence is now negligible, and we are able to obtain a perfect specimen that allows for detailed pathological assessment, which guides subsequent patient management. ESD, along with third space endoscopy, truly represents the new frontier in therapeutic endoscopy."
Feeling so good made her realize just how long she had been struggling with her health. “I was sick for a long time; probably the last six years things have really been hard,” she said. “It’s been an adventure. When I went to have my colonoscopy, this is not what I expected to happen.”
Now, she’s using her energy to get back to life. “When my husband and I saw pictures of the large polyp and everything, we both just cried,” she said. “It’s crazy where my life could possibly be right now if it weren’t for such great providers.”
Hilton and her husband are excited to get back to doing what they love: going to concerts, fishing, spending time in the mountains, and taking road trips. She’s even excited about having energy to go to the grocery store and isn’t taking anything for granted.
"I feel like I took on the world. I survived a massive colon polyp. I can deal with anything else life throws at me."
Don't Wait to Get Screened
Hilton hopes others can learn from her.
“I had my very first colonoscopy at the age of 50,” she said. “Don’t wait that long. Listen to your body. I will never ignore my body again.”
Her story is an important reminder that colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers because screening can find and remove precancerous polyps.
Current guidelines recommend:
- Adults at average risk begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45
- People in good health and with a life expectancy of more than 10 years should continue regular colorectal cancer screening through age 75
- People with a family history of colorectal cancer or certain medical conditions may need an earlier screening or should be screened more often
If you experience these symptoms, see your doctor right away:
- Change in bowel habits
- Blood in stool
- Diarrhea, constipation, or feeling that the bowel does not empty all the way
- Stools that are narrower than usual
- Frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness, or cramps
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
Don’t wait for your next routine screening to talk with your health care provider about concerning symptoms. As Hilton’s experience shows, one colonoscopy can make all the difference.