At 77 years old, Gerald Smith considered himself the picture of health.

The retired electrician and Air Force veteran from East Tennessee built his life around grit and routine. He stayed active, managed rental properties, and enjoyed the great outdoors as much as possible. Over the course of his life, he had been cut, stabbed, and even shot—and kept going. Cancer wasn’t something he ever expected to face. But when he noticed blood in his stool, he sprang into action.

The warning sign would have been easy to dismiss, especially for someone who felt healthy. Instead, he scheduled a colonoscopy. The screening revealed a blockage and a second procedure confirmed colon cancer. What began as a routine screening turned into the fight of his life.

Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer in the United States, and the cases are rising, including among young adults who otherwise appear healthy. Symptoms can be mild and easy to ignore at first: stomach pain, diarrhea, and constipation. But more persistent discomfort is cause for concern. Screenings are often the only way to detect it early, when treatment is most effective and survival rates are highest.

After his diagnosis, Gerald met with Leonard Copertino, MD, a general surgeon at Covenant Health Roane to talk through what came next. They discussed the surgery, the risks, the path forward—and fly fishing. That small connection helped build trust in a difficult moment.

“You have to trust your surgeon,” Gerald recalls Dr. Copertino saying. “If you’re not comfortable, I’ll help you find someone else.”

Gerald didn’t need to look elsewhere. Dr. Copertino and his team moved quickly, scheduling surgery without delay. Using a minimally invasive laparoscopic approach, he removed the cancer and 29 lymph nodes for testing, an important step in determining the disease’s stage. Pathology confirmed stage III colon cancer.

Treatment began soon after: a nine-week course of chemotherapy. True to form, Gerald approached treatment and recovery with the same determination he brought to everything else. He walked 18 laps the night after his surgery, earning him praise as a “phenomenal patient” from his surgeon.

Nine weeks later, follow-up scans showed no evidence of cancer. Gerald rang the bell marking the end of his treatment—an emotional milestone that brought him to tears in a way few things ever had.

Today, he is back on the front porch with his wife, looking ahead to his grandson’s wedding and returning to the life he built.

“I’ve traveled all over the world,” he says. “And couldn’t have received better care anywhere else.” For Gerald, that care was close to home, delivered by a team ready to act when it mattered most. The experience also left him with a message he now shares regularly with others: “Don’t wait. Get your screenings. You’re worth more than putting it off.”

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