Chamblee resident encourages colorectal cancer screenings in honor of her late husband.
Elizabeth Sokolowski’s son was the first one to see his dad’s name on the screen. It was a slow fade that simply said, “Kris Sokolowski, 50.” The name was among hundreds of others representing people who lost their battle with colorectal cancer and were included in a powerful video from Guardant Health featuring actor Patrick Dempsey.
“I kept watching it and thinking how beautiful it was,” says Elizabeth, who lost Kris on February 20, 2023. “I was so proud because Kris was one of those people who wasn’t doom and gloom when he was diagnosed. He said, ‘I’m going to bring as much awareness to this as I can.’ Being included in the commercial—I know he would love it.”
Guardant Health, which offers the Shield blood test to screen for colorectal cancer, was one of the companies Kris connected with before his passing. A healthy man who worked out, he was shocked to learn the gurgling in his stomach was related to colon cancer that had spread to his liver. He had not scheduled a colonoscopy because he wasn’t 50, then the recommended age for the test. The guideline changed to age 45 two weeks prior to his diagnosis—a shift that could have saved his life. Now, Elizabeth has taken up the mantle of encouraging others to have a colonoscopy or opt for the Shield test.
“My main goal is to have people hear his story and go get tested,” she says, noting that she spreads the word on social media, participates in the Atlanta Walk to End Colon Cancer and more. “If you catch colon cancer early, you can survive it. If you wait, your chances go down. So don’t put it off.”
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