KAYSVILLE — Jefferson Porter was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer after a CT scan this summer, months after his two sisters learned they each had breast cancer.

“They could see all kinds of tumors down there in my colon, outside the colon, in the lymph nodes, and several spots in my liver,” Porter said.

Porter, who recently underwent his first chemotherapy treatment, said no one in the family knows why the three siblings have cancer or were diagnosed so close together.

“It’s just bizarre mine is so much more advanced,” Porter said. “I don’t know. It could have been growing there for years. We just don’t know."

History

Porter’s sister, Michelle Nylander, was the first to learn of her breast cancer diagnosis last year.

“It was actually DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), but stage 0 breast cancer,” Nylander said Wednesday. “I decided to undergo some treatment of a bilateral mastectomy, and I did that last August, actually a year ago today.”

Nylander said tissue samples uncovered more cancer close to her chest wall, which required radiation therapy. She said she subsequently learned she had a genetic mutation that put her at a higher risk for breast and colon cancers.

“We don’t have any cancer in our family history, so I never thought about cancer,” Nylander said. Her doctor recommended other family members be screened, which is what led her sister, Suzanne Gange, to undergo testing.

“I was diagnosed in October of 2016 with breast cancer,” Gange said as she sat next to Nylander and Porter. “Because of the genetic predisposition, I also had a bilateral mastectomy.”

Gange described the discovery as “shocking.”

“I had no signs,” Gange said. “They only caught it through a mammogram and I wasn’t even old enough for the age you would normally get a mammogram, which is 40."

Gange said she was 36 at the time and only got tested because her sister had cancer. "They told me to go in and I’m glad that I did because it probably saved my life. Four years of growing cancer probably would have been a bad thing.”

Three diagnoses in a year

Porter said he only started experiencing some symptoms in March and couldn’t believe he had stage IV colon cancer. He said he did not have the same genetic marker his two sisters did.

“It makes you wonder and think to ourselves, ‘What happened? Why, why did we all get this?’” Nylander said. “We met with the geneticist last week and she seemed to think that maybe that wasn’t the reason, especially where I had it, Suzanne had it and now Jefferson does not. So we really don’t know.”

Nylander said the family questioned whether any environmental factors were to blame, but she said, as far as she knows, none of her neighbors in Kaysville growing up have been sick.

Community support

The family said it has already received significant support from neighbors.

“Last night, I was home cooking dinner and the doorbell rang and it was some neighborhood person I had never met before,” recalled Nylander, teary-eyed. “They just said, ‘we heard about your brother and here’s some money.’”

Organizers said a fundraiser* Saturday at Davis High School would benefit Porter, who has a wife and three children. A yard sale, bake sale and auction are expected to run from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Family friend Amy Wright said an account had also been set up at America First Credit Union under the name "Jefferson Porter Charity Account."*

“There’s not a whole lot we feel like we can do other than trying to show our support,” Wright said. “It hits you right in the back of the throat, but this is just heartbreaking. How come somebody has to be hit so hard? Nobody really wants to be that strong.”

*Disclaimer: KSL.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does KSL.com assure that the monies deposited will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit or donation you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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