Mike and Roxanne Ament met at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, WI, married a couple of years later and had two children. Roxanne was a praise and worship leader and sang in church. The couple volunteered both at church and with other community organizations. Giving back was simply part of their lives.
Roxanne exercised regularly and ate organic foods. She wasn’t a smoker and didn’t drink much alcohol. She prioritized physical and mental health and well-being. The only time she spent in a hospital was when she gave birth. So, it was surprising to everyone when she began feeling unwell around Christmas 2021.
“Something wasn’t right,” shared Mike. “She went to the doctor in January, and they initially thought she was constipated, but she didn’t get better with treatment.”
They returned to the doctor because, in addition to feeling unwell, she was weak and fatigued.
“Our son is a competitive snowboarder, and Roxanne couldn’t stand for the duration of one of his competitions. One of our friends is a nurse, and she started to get really worried about her.”
After additional testing, a large mass was discovered in Roxanne’s colon. She was scheduled for a colonoscopy, but the mass was so large that the scope couldn’t pass through. Roxanne was eventually diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to her liver and lungs. She was 45 years old.
“We met with a surgical oncologist, and he said her condition would have to improve before he could do surgery,” said Mike. “I waited for Roxanne to leave the room before I broke down, and I remember the doctor hugging me.”
Mike and Roxanne made an appointment with an oncologist, and she started chemotherapy.
“At first, she seemed to be responding well to chemo. We were in Colorado, and she felt well enough to ski for an entire day – past the point where the rest of us were exhausted. I was optimistic she was getting better.”
But when they returned home, doctors found a full blockage in Roxanne’s colon. She needed a colostomy bag. In July, she had a negative reaction to chemo, and her medication was adjusted.
“Around Thanksgiving, we could tell things weren’t getting better. At the beginning of December, we learned the chemo was no longer effective,” shared Mike. “We tried getting into clinical trials at hospitals across the country, but her liver stopped working, and soon, she was no longer eligible to participate in trials.”
Roxanne was put into hospice care to make her as comfortable as possible. On Dec. 14, 2022, just 10 months after her diagnosis, she passed away. She was surrounded by Mike, their two children, and her mother.
“I’m grateful we got to spend her last moments with her and say goodbye. It was the hardest thing we’ve ever experienced, but it was as peaceful as it could have been. She didn’t suffer. So many people visited, and she got to tell them she loved them. She was a special, special woman.”
Turning pain into purpose
Mike’s stepsister, Jenny Crane, works at Aurora Health Care as a GI surgery scheduler. She’s a huge supporter of Aurora Health Care Foundation, and she wanted to find something meaningful to do after Roxanne’s journey.
“Around the time of Roxanne’s diagnosis, I found some information on the Foundation website about Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic and its efforts to expand access to colon cancer screenings,” explained Jenny. “I wondered what I could do to help. Roxanne’s diagnosis was such a shock. If someone that healthy and full of life could get colon cancer, anyone could.”
Jenny, Mike and Mike’s sister-in-law, Megan Ament, who’s also an Aurora teammate, worked with the Foundation and formed a partnership with the Colon Cancer Coalition of Milwaukee. The organization hosts a run/walk every September to raise funds and awareness for colon cancer prevention.
“We found out about the run/walk just two weeks before it was happening,” said Mike. “But we were still able to pull together a team, Remembering Roxanne, and it was one of the largest teams at the event. We hope to show up with even more participants this year.”
The Foundation team worked with the Coalition to secure a grant of $8,500 for 500 screening tests to be completed through Aurora Walker’s Point patients at no cost.
“Roxanne was an amazing person who lit up the room with her kindness and warmth. Her faith and helping others were a huge part of her life. And because of her ever-present faith, she went through this battle with immense grace,” shared Jenny. “The partnership with Aurora Walker’s Point and Coalition is a meaningful way to honor Roxanne’s life, faith and volunteer work.”
How you can help
Aurora Walker’s Point Community Clinic has been caring for people who are low-income, immigrants, refugees and underserved in the Milwaukee community for more than 30 years. The clinic specializes in providing multilingual, culturally sensitive care and provides care if a patient does not have health insurance. The clinic’s programs and services, including colon cancer screening and prevention efforts, would not exist without the generosity of donors like you.
“It’s still hard to process how someone like Roxanne could go from healthy to stage 4 colon cancer in a year. She made all the right choices in life. It didn’t make sense,” said Mike. “But I believe that something positive can come out of every negative thing. Losing Roxanne was horrible; I miss her every day. But there can be purpose in all of this, and maybe we can help save lives.”
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 107,000 people are newly diagnosed with colon cancer each year. Early screening is the most effective way to catch and treat this disease. Please consider making a gift today.