Beth Esh is a young mother of three who received the life changing diagnosis of stage 4 colorectal cancer a few years ago. This diagnosis caused her to rethink her personal identity and learn to accept help from others.
The one moment that changed everything
The moment after Beth Esh woke up from a colonoscopy, doctors informed her that they found a 7cm mass in her rectum. She was then immediately referred to a surgeon and got an MRI as well as a CT scan done. When a biopsy was run on the mass, it revealed that she had stage 4 colorectal cancer at the young age of 36.
When she heard the news over the phone, Beth remembered how “It just rocked my world. I was like, I’m 36. My youngest is three. This isn’t part of the plan.” At first, she didn’t even think she needed a colonoscopy because she was so young and previous doctors’ visits seemed to go so well, but it proved to be the right move after receiving such a severe diagnosis.
Her husband rushed home to comfort her having seen the test results beforehand online. They also needed to begin mapping out the future since Beth was in charge of homeschooling their three children.
A rocky start
Beth was on chemo from the first week of September 2023 until December because her body wasn’t responding well to the treatment. Her medical providers found that the oral medication she was receiving couldn’t be properly digested since she didn’t have the liver enzyme that could do it, making the pill stay in her body longer than necessary. Beth informed her doctors about the side effects and severe pain she was feeling from the pill, prompting them to consider alternative treatments for her. This experience is why she encourages people to self-advocate for themselves when talking to medical professionals. “Make sure you’re aware and talk to your doctors about what side effects you’re having, because when I started to describe them they’re like ‘No, this is not normal.’” Beth said, remembering how much better celebrating Christmas with her family was when she wasn’t actively in pain all the time.
After Christmas, she went into radiation treatment and then had surgery in April of the next year which removed all the cancerous regions. She still had cancer but the mass was minimized from its original 7cm size. Since doctors weren’t sure if she still had cancer cells in her bloodstream, she was put back on chemotherapy for three more months in summer of 2024.
Cancer gradually left her body through this treatment but she still requires monthly check ups, scans, tests and blood work in case the cancer returns.
Beth and her family were also faced with the emotional aspects of terminal illness and were having a hard time accepting help some days. “People offer to help and you’re like ‘No, it’s okay. I got this.’ And you realize, ‘No, I can use help.’ It’s okay to accept help. I don’t have to do this on my own,” Beth said while looking back on how the experience affected her self-perception. She always prided herself on being a servant of God, then a mother always helping others but realized that after being diagnosed while still taking care of three young children, she would also need to receive help from others because she couldn’t do it all on her own.
Life changes…for the better
Accepting help and acknowledging her circumstances with her faith has helped her cope with the situation. “I think it’s easy to get frustrated with things in life. With young kids, there’s so much going on. And then realizing like, no this is not a hindrance to me. This is my opportunity to teach them and help them learn and grow.” Beth said, finding that the diagnosis played a role in figuring out what was most important to her life.
Inheritance of Hope would become one of these important parts, but not without initial doubts. When her sister who worked in palliative care first recommended the organization to her, she didn’t find her diagnosis “severe enough” to participate in a Legacy Retreat®. However, she still decided to check out the website and saw that they would make sure whether or not she qualified based on her application.
Legacy Retreat® staff reached out to her various times to offer her family a spot on different retreats but because treatment was so severe at the time, her family couldn’t attend.
Then in 2025, Beth was finally in remission. She got to visit her other family members in California right when a Hope Hub™ meeting was happening in Houston where Beth and her husband had been living for the past 11 years. Though her family once again missed another retreat, she still ended up connecting with them later on because her other sister coincidentally taught at a Christian school in California with one of the other volunteers.
Later in the year, Beth’s family finally made it to a retreat though she didn’t know if she was allowed to go because she was already in remission.
While still in doubt, they began to go away when she started speaking with other parents struggling with terminal illness much like herself. “I have never been able to connect with people so instantly than you do on these legacy retreats. When you meet other families that know and understand what you’re going through and are going through a similar thing,” Beth said. “It’s an instant camaraderie that you couldn’t even imagine.”
She also found that her kids had a lot of pent up emotion which they started to process through different activities at the retreat. They had such a fun time, that to this day they still ask to return another time. They also make thank you cards to the volunteers. Once they’re older, they wish to also volunteer with the program.
Since the retreat, Beth speaks to some members of the community on a group chat and follows them on Facebook. “Connecting with people who are like ‘that’s also my story’ and they know when you walk through suffering, you just gain so much empathy for others who are also going through it.” Beth said, encouraging others going through something similar to reach out to Inheritance of Hope so they can also have a community who gets them.
She also urges people to not “wait for a terminal diagnosis to value the relationships and the time that you have.” Because you never really know how much time you have left to share with your loved ones.
Hear more of Beth’s story on the Inheritance of Hope Podcast. Listen now >>
Kennedy Owens a Storytelling Intern at Inheritance of Hope. She is currently a sophomore at Florida Southern College with a major in advertising and public relations, and is an active participant on her school campus as the Event Coordinator for the Young Adults Self Advocates club and Brand Manager for the school’s radio station The Hiss. She enjoys all things writing-related and likes to serve her community the best she can.