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>> Sometimes, life at home
and life at work
can seem worlds apart.
Just ask Dustin Deming.
As a doctor and researcher,
Dustin lives by precision,
organization and order.
>> We also were able to see
deposits of cancer...
>> At home...
the operations
look a little different.
>> With a 2-year-old and
a 4-year-old, my wife and I
definitely have our hands full.
As different as they are,
both parts of Dustin's life
share the same roots.
>> I grew up
in Waupun, Wisconsin,
born and raised.
In went there for high school.
That's actually
where I met my wife.
We were high school sweethearts.
I had a teacher in high school,
Mr. Leelah, who really
challenged us in chemistry.
He made us kind of think
out of the box, and that really
got me excited about science.
When I entered undergrad
at Marquette, I knew
that I wanted to at least
get some research experience.
>> Four years later, Dustin
headed to medical school
at the University of Wisconsin
in Madison,
focusing on colorectal cancer.
>> A big part of that
was just the idea
to make a difference for people.
About 150,000 people in the U.S.
each year are diagnosed
with colon cancer.
50,000 people die each year
from colon cancer.
>> After years of fellowships
and training, he landed a job
at UW Hospital's Carbone Cancer
Center, working in the lab
and at the bedside.
>> I wanted some of each.
I wanted to have time
in the lab, but also make sure
that I had dedicated time
to patients.
>> But just two weeks
into his new job,
Dr. Deming's professional
and personal lives
came crashing together.
>> Probably the biggest question
that came into my life was,
"Am I going to die?"
When I was first diagnosed,
it was obvious
at the colonoscopy
that this was cancer.
My wife was there in the room
when the physician
talked about the results.
We both knew immediately
what this meant.
It's one of the most
ironic things that a 30-year-old
rectal cancer specialist
gets rectal cancer.
>> Soon, Dustin was both
a doctor and a patient,
undergoing chemo, radiation,
and surgery.
>> I was actually seeing
patients in clinic
while I had a chemotherapy pump
around my waist.
There was a couple instances
where patients were asking me
specific questions
about chemotherapy,
and I could show them
what chemotherapy
actually looked like.
Hello, hi.
It's Dr. Deming from the UW.
How are you doing...?
My mindset completely changed
after being diagnosed
with cancer.
before being diagnosed,
I thought a lot
about the science of cancer.
I actually think now
that it's much more important
that we connect emotionally.
And I understand the emotional
side of how they're dealing
with their cancer diagnosis.
>> More than a year-and-a-half
after his own diagnosis,
Dustin's cancer is in remission.
But Dustin says his time
as a patient still influences
his work as a doctor.
>> One of the questions
I like to ask my patients now
when I first meet them, is
how they're sleeping at night.
You know, when the lights go off
and things are quiet,
what's going through their mind?
There was one patient who came
to see me who had a cancer
exactly where my cancer was,
and he was concerned
that he did not want
to go through with the treatment
for that cancer, because
the surgery that's needed for
this type of cancer requires
a permanent ostomy being placed.
So the thought of having
a bag placed, for him,
he thought was more
than he could ever deal with.
So I was actually able
to sit down with him,
look him in the eye and say,
I've been there.
I've had that surgery.
I have an ostomy,
and your life doesn't end
after having an ostomy in place.
>> Experiences like that have
given Dustin a new perspective.
>> I would never wish cancer
on anybody,
but in a lot of ways,
I actually feel very grateful.
It's one of those things,
had I actually been diagnosed
with colorectal cancer
at the average time frame,
in my mid-60s,
I may have already been done
with my medical career.
I wouldn't have been able
to have this opportunity
to actually interact
with my patients on this level.
That was a hard one.
Good job.
My turn...?
For me, it also made me
think more about my faith.
Now I enjoy
even the simplest things,
'cause you never know what's
going to happen the next day.
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