“Just don’t eat anything into yourself”

Ulrich Schmunk has cancer, two operations behind him and is in the middle of chemo. But he has found ways to deal with his illness positively. Openness is important to him. That is why the Bellersheimer tells his story and promotes regular prevention.

A little over a year ago, Uli Schmunk was still in the Bütt. In a green T-shirt with the inscription Ü-60: That was his topic at the Bellersheim Fassenacht at the time. There was no penalty council meeting that year. But if there had been one – Schmunk would not have been there for the first time in decades. The 63-year-old has been out of action for seven months. Since August 5th, to be precise. That day he received a devastating diagnosis: colon cancer.

The word »crushing«, however, doesn’t really fit Schmunk. The man has undergone several operations, survived a pulmonary embolism and is at the end of six months of chemotherapy. But he has kept his hair, a healthy complexion and otherwise makes a vital impression. “I’m a confident guy,” he says of himself. “I think it’ll turn out well. But I know it can go wrong too. “

The Bellersheim resident impressed his fellow men with this optimism. Other patients, for example. And Patricia Rembowski, the spokeswoman for the Asklepios Clinic in Lich, who tells the story of this patient on Instagram as an example to encourage other people. “Mr. Schmunk is a great guy,” she says. His handling of the disease is overwhelming.

The native of Rodheim, who works as an authorized signatory for a building materials dealer, is a sociable guy. Football, Fassenacht, ski club, and in the past also the fire brigade: he got involved everywhere and a large circle of friends. That, and of course the great support in the family, now helps him through the difficult time. “You mustn’t eat anything into yourself, you have to talk openly,” he says.

And so he talks frankly about the seven-hour operation in which the team led by the Lich surgeon Dr. Thilo Schwandner not only removed a five centimeter tumor from the rectum, but also removed a piece of the large intestine and metastases from the liver. He was left with a 33 centimeter long scar and – temporarily – an artificial anus. Further metastases were found at a follow-up examination. A second operation followed and, probably as a side effect of the chemo, a peripheral pulmonary embolism. “Now I have to take blood thinners for a few months,” reports the patient. But he is extremely satisfied with the treatment itself, both in the Lich clinic, where his daughter works, and at his oncologist in Giessen. “Everything’s going smoothly,” he says. Blood and liver values ​​are top, and he has never had an elevated tumor marker again.

Wish: Again to go to work

The last and eighth cycle of his chemotherapy is still ahead of him. After that, Schmunk can focus on March 30th. On this day, a control CT is done and the stoma should be moved back. Rehabilitation is also on the agenda. Then he wants to go back to work. “You have to set goals,” says Schmunk. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to implement this plan. “I make that dependent on my state of health.” His professional life will not be long anyway. He will retire on January 1, 2022, his 64th birthday and after 48 years in the job. It was planned that way before the diagnosis. He definitely wants to keep a habit from sick leave: “I started cooking. I find that fun.”

Schmunk’s illness came out of the blue for Schmunk. A colonoscopy eight years earlier had gone without any results, he had no complaints. He had only discovered blood in his stool a few weeks before the diagnosis. With closer inspection, the cancer would have been diagnosed at an earlier stage, he believes.

That is why he is campaigning for early detection. “A colonoscopy isn’t a big deal. I can only recommend everyone to take regular preventive care. «He has already convinced several men from his large circle of friends. “They got over it and made an appointment.”

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