El Paso Woman Honored in National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign

An El Paso woman is being memorialized in a national advertising campaign aimed at promoting colorectal cancer screening and honoring those who have died from the disease, according to KVIA.

Diana Gutierrez was 48 when diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer. She had not experienced typical symptoms before seeking medical attention for a stomachache. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy but died in December 2022, just over a year after her diagnosis.

The campaign features actor and cancer advocate Patrick Dempsey standing before a wall of names and ages of people who died from colorectal cancer. When Dempsey reads Gutierrez's name aloud in the video, her daughter Rebecca Gutierrez immediately recognized it.

Rebecca described her mother as a loving mother, wife, grandmother and devoted nurse practitioner. "She taught me how to read, how to ride a bike, how to do all the things, be a good person, be kind. She was amazing. She loved people. She loved taking care of people," Rebecca told ABC-7, according to KVIA.

After her mother's death, Rebecca channeled her grief into advocacy work. She became active with the Colon Cancer Coalition and took on the role of event director for a local 5K walk. Her involvement with the coalition eventually led to Guardant Health, the company behind the campaign, learning about Gutierrez's story.

"I feel so trapped in this grief that I need an outlet, and it needs to be a healthy outlet," Rebecca said. She said her work raising awareness is an act of love she practices daily and hopes her mother would be proud of the family for sharing her story.

In May 2021, the American Cancer Society lowered the recommended age for colorectal cancer screening from 50 to 45 for adults at average risk.