Drew and Geoff Hajian- Strength in Brotherhood
I’ve known Drew since high school — the kind of friend who shows up early in your life and somehow never loses his place. Time pulled us into different directions, different responsibilities, different chapters. But every time we reconnect, it’s like the clock had frozen. No warm‑up needed. No rebuilding the bond. He’s still the same steady, genuine, quietly solid friend he’s always been… with that same killer crossover that used to leave people sliding across the gym floor.
That consistency — that loyalty, humility, and heart — is exactly what makes his story, and his brother’s story, so powerful. And today, I want to share their story in Drew’s own words, unedited, because what he says is profound. His honesty, his perspective, and his resilience deserve to be heard exactly as he lived it.
Their journey is also a reminder of something we can’t say enough: research saves lives, and early checkups matter. The more we talk about it, the more we normalize it, the more people get screened before it’s too late.
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On January 12, 2021, at age 46, my brother Geoff was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. During 2020, he was having weird bowel movements. Sometimes mucus and/or blood in his stool, and at times stringy stool. He mentioned it to his primary care doctor at first and they thought maybe it could be Crohn's disease as he is a type 1 diabetic and sometimes diabetics can get Crohn's. He was prompted to schedule a colonoscopy in March 2020 as there was history of colon cancer on both sides of the family.
Due to the Covid shutdown his appointment was postponed and he wasn’t able to reschedule an appointment until January 2021. Who knows if the tumor/cancer grew or spread during that time between 2020 and 2021. My brother called me right after he received the news and told me his diagnosis. When I heard stage 4 it was very alarming and emotions ran high for our family. With all of his courage he said he was ready to fight it and that his team of doctors had a plan on how they were going to treat it and shrink the large tumor in his rectal area so they could eventually perform surgery to remove the malignant tumor. It was considered stage 4 as it had spread to his lungs in the form of small pencil eraser size nodules.
He went through hell and back in the beginning of his treatments. First radiation, then chemo treatments. The chemo really knocked him out with nausea and drained him. Sometimes sleepless nights with diarrhea and/or vomiting. However, through it all he kept fighting. There were some good days and some bad days. Some days he wanted to give up and other days he wanted to fight. With his family and friends by his side we encouraged him to keep fighting.
The surgeon was able to perform a successful surgery to remove the large tumor once the radiation and chemo was able to shrink it. Afterwards he had to have a colostomy bag for a few months and then they were able to reverse the bag so he could have regular bowel movements and not have to deal with the bag any longer. He continued fighting and is still fighting.
To help him continue to fight, Geoff uses music as his therapy. He loves playing guitar, so much so that his new passion and purpose is to become a guitar master. He is 5 years strong and counting. He is one of the strongest people I know. He’s on chemo every few weeks now to keep the spots that spread to his lungs in check. They have not spread although they have to change his chemotherapy every so often when the tumors become resistant to it. It so important to spread awareness and raise funds through charities for research.
Every little bit helps. It’s also very important to be your own advocate and know your family history and take action immediately. In January 2022, I had my first colonoscopy just before I turned 40 in March and it was a good thing I went in because I had 5 polyps, one of which the Doctor said could have turned into something in 5 to 10 years down the road . They removed all of the polyps and told me to come back in 3 years. Knowing your family history on both sides helps early prevention which is the best form of detection.
I wish Haymakers for Hope all the best with their mission to fight and raise money for cancer research and awareness. It’s so important that we come together as people to knock cancer out. Keep fighting for the fighters!
Peace and love,
Andrew Hajian
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