Donald Barge’s UI Health cancer team gave him ‘a whole new life’

A long career in communications - including stints as a singer, a photographer and a radio broadcaster - taught Donald Barge how to get his point across. So, in May of 2025, when he woke up in the middle of the night in severe pain, he knew he needed to speak up.

"I had terrible stomach pain that just wouldn't go away, so I asked my wife, at 1 o'clock in the morning, to take me to [the emergency room]," Barge said. "And I told her I wanted to go to UI Health."

After being admitted and spending eight days in the hospital, meeting with four or five doctors a day, Barge finally received a diagnosis: Stage 3 colorectal cancer, consisting of five tumors. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers for both men and women, accounting for about 10% of new cancer diagnoses each year, especially among those 50 years or older.

"It was a scary diagnosis, but just getting confirmation made me start to feel better," he said. "I'd spent so much time wondering and worrying. Now I knew what I was dealing with, and I had a team of doctors and nurses who wanted to go after it with me."

That team included medical specialists focused on treating Barge's cancer and preventing any further spread. Barge was ready to move forward with surgery within a few days.

On the day of his procedure, just a few hours after getting out of surgery, Barge was walking around his room with the help of his nurses. Over the next few weeks, he worked up to walking his entire unit twice a day.

Once Barge was home from the hospital, Dr. Shikha Jain confirmed that his surgery was a success and that he would be cancer-free without the need for chemotherapy. In September 2025, she let him know that he was ready to safely undergo a reverse colostomy that would allow him to stop using his colostomy bag and officially end his colorectal cancer journey.

"I remember when I couldn't lift 10 pounds. Now, I'm walking 4 or 5 miles a day. I'm working out in the gym," he said. "I have a whole new life, and UI Health is at the foundation of that new life."

Watch the video: "Patient Voices: Donald Barge."

- Jack Martin, UI Health