Matter of Life

Nate Traucht is a father, personal trainer, body builder and cancer survivor. And that’s cause for major celebration.

The Dublin resident is in remission after he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2021. After undergoing his treatment plan, the quarter-size tumor was nonexistent after four weeks.

“There’s no tumor, it’s gone,” his doctor had told him.

Because the initial treatment plan had been effective, he didn’t need to undergo surgery, something only four percent of colorectal cancer patients experience. Doctors aren’t sure why.

One of the hardest parts of his experience, he says, is trying to understand why he was so lucky.

“That was my biggest mental and emotional trauma from this,” Traucht says. “Why me? Not, ‘Why me, why did I get it?’ but, ‘Why did I live from it so easily?’”

Although he may never have the answer, he’s come to the conclusion that he can use his story to raise awareness.

Daily battle

Leading up to his diagnosis, Traucht had no physical ailments or symptoms that indicated his health was less than perfect.

In 2018, Traucht’s father had precancerous cells removed from in his colon. Traucht mentioned this to his doctor during a physical in 2019 and, since Traucht was 44 and now had a family history, his doctor recommended getting checked.

According to the CDC, regular screening beginning at age 45 is the key to preventing colorectal cancer and detecting it early.

“I didn’t (get checked) because I’m super fit and I don’t worry about myself at all,” he says. “I just worry about my kids, my family and my clients. So I didn’t get checked.”

It wasn’t until 2021 – he skipped doctor’s visits altogether in 2020 because of COVID-19 – that Traucht finally got his first colonoscopy scheduled at age 46.

He went in for the procedure in September 2021. When he woke up, the doctor informed him that they found a mass about the size of a quarter in his rectum. Based on its size, the doctor suspected cancer.

After the biopsy came back, Traucht was officially diagnosed with colorectal cancer. A week later, an MRI determined it was stage 3.

Traucht started treatment 17 days later, which included daily radiation treatments and daily oral chemotherapy, to reduce the tumor before surgery could be performed.

But four weeks into his six-week treatment cycle, he went up to Cleveland for a scan. Shockingly, the doctor couldn’t feel or see the tumor anymore. His tumor had disappeared after just four weeks of the planned six-week treatment.

After taking a month off from treatment, doctors declared him in remission in January 2022.

However, because colorectal cancer has a high recurrence rate without surgery, Traucht underwent four more months of IV chemo and a higher dose of oral chemo to ensure he would remain in remission. He completed his treatment in May 2022.

Every six months Traucht will get MRIs and CT scans, and once a year he will get a colonoscopy. After five years of clean scans, a patient is considered cured.

Training for life

Traucht continued to work and train throughout the process. He even worked out for longer periods of time while undergoing chemotherapy because exercise made him feel better.

“I never felt down in the entire six months or eight months of treatment that I did,” he says. “I didn’t miss a single day of work. I didn’t miss a single workout. In fact, my workouts got longer. They didn’t get harder, because I know my body’s getting beat up by all the treatments. I decreased the intensity but increased the duration because I felt the best during the day when I was working out.”

He competed in the OCB Buckeye Natural body building competition at the Greater Columbus Convention Center this spring, which was his first since diagnosis and exactly one year after he entered remission.

Traucht has lived in Dublin for more than 20 years. He first came to the area from a small town outside of Findlay to attend The Ohio State University, where he received a degree in exercise science with a minor in nutrition.

Traucht has been training since he started college. He got his first certification and started his first business at 19. He trains clients independently, both inperson and online.

He is very close with his two daughters, Valentina, 9, and Amelie, 15.

Traucht feels lucky for his outcome, especially knowing that, for many, the battle doesn’t always have the same outcome.

In fact, one of Traucht’s close friends is one such person whose journey with cancer was very different. She, too, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, but she experienced symptoms that were “100 times” worse, according to Traucht. She was in remission for a year before it returned and she underwent surgery, which took her more than a year to recover from.

Because of his quick and highly successful treatment outcome, Traucht was part of the national discussion of colorectal oncology.

While Traucht believes his mental fortitude, faith and daily prayers contributed to his success, his doctor quickly ruled them out when he shared his hypothesis.

“But I’m gonna believe what I want to believe,” Traucht says with a smile.

Traucht has used his experience to spread the word about the importance of colonoscopies. He’s been interviewed on TV for colorectal cancer awareness multiple times. He says he doesn’t have filters when it comes to the topic and his willingness to talk about it is part of how he makes sense of his survival.

“I know personally 26 people that have gotten their first ever colonoscopy because of me,” he says. “People in my personal life that I see all the time, and people that just come up to me on the street (to tell me they scheduled one after seeing me on TV). … That’s the only thing I can think up, because I’ll talk about it.”

Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com

by Caroline Ingraham Photos courtesy of City of Dublin