Immunotherapy helps certain cancer patients avoid surgery: ‘We hope this is the future’

Kelly Spill didn’t cry when she was diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer at age 28. She held her emotions together when her surgeon told her that she might not be able to carry another baby — treatment with radiation can significantly affect fertility — and that she might need to have a colostomy bag attached to her to collect her bodily waste after surgery.“I didn’t cry at both of those,” said Spill, who at the time was newly engaged and just months postpartum. After welcoming son Jayce into the world, she and her fiancé had planned to elope to...