Get your booty checked.
That was the message Norco resident Earl Rodrigue Jr. shared on Facebook on Dec. 7 when he announced his Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis with a video message. It was his 60th birthday.
“Get a colonoscopy,” Rodrigue said in the video. “It’s painless. It’s just a booty check. For my birthday, promise me, if you haven’t had one, get one as soon as you can.”
The message resonated. Rodrigue said 17 people told him they scheduled colonoscopies after seeing his message. His video has over 28,000 views, 29 shares and over 500 comments.
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Rates of colorectal cancer have been rising in recent years, particularly among younger adults under 50. Current guidelines recommend routine screening starting at age 45, or earlier for those with risk factors or a family history. Doctors also stress the importance of recognizing symptoms, such as persistent abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, or unexplained weight loss.
Rodrigue, a 1983 graduate of Destrehan High School, said he brushed off his lower back pain, assuming he pulled a muscle lifting furniture. But when he began losing significant weight, his sisters urged him to see a doctor.
Two days after meeting with his doctor, Rodrigue underwent his first colonoscopy.
“When I met with the surgeon [after the procedure], she told me I had Stage 3 rectal cancer,” Rodrigue said.
Stage 3 means the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Rodrigue said the diagnosis was overwhelming.
“That was a day I think I will never forget,” he said. “I mean, when you hear that C word, it definitely changes you. I thought nothing could stop me. This makes you pause.”
After the diagnosis, his doctor at East Jefferson General Hospital asked him a simple question: how optimistic are you?
“And I said, ‘that’s the way I live my life,’” Rodrigue said. “I believe that the positive outshines the negative all the time. And she said, ‘because of that, you’re going to get through this.’”
‘It kept me going’
Rodrigue was diagnosed in June and began chemotherapy but continued working at Roussel Fine Jewelry and Gifts in LaPlace, where he is a fixture of the family business.
“A lot of my customers kept saying that I didn’t look too good,” Rodrigue said. “They asked if I was using Ozempic.”
He didn’t take the comments as insults, but when he mentioned them to his niece, Kimberly Montgomery, she suggested he share his diagnosis publicly.
“She said, ‘you know, that can bring a lot of negative thoughts into your mind during this time when people keep saying how bad you look or that you look great,’” Rodrigue said.
After he posted the video, customers came in with prayers and positive thoughts, instead of questions and concerns.
“I had ministers that have come from as far as even Hammond to anoint me with oil,” Rodrigue said. “I’ve had people call and pray for me over the phone. One girl came in and brought me a blanket and anointed me again with oil. And she made me these beautiful bracelets.”
The care and love he has received from customers has made a huge difference in his recovery, he said.
“I knew that the river parishes have always been very different,” he said. “But in time of need, everybody comes together. And I have never in my life felt so blessed.”
‘Family is so important’
Rodrigue, the youngest of five siblings, grew up in Destrehan alongside his four sisters. Their close-knit family lived next door to their mother’s identical twin sister and her five daughters.
“Family was everything to us,” Rodrigue said of growing up. “We had the greatest God-given parents, Daisy and Earl Rodrigue. Friday nights were seafood nights, and we’d all get together and just celebrate life.”
Daisy and her twin sister made the kids promise they would stick together no matter what. And they have. Many family members work at the Roussel stores. Rodrigue’s sister, Amber Roussel, and her husband, Chris Roussel, own the store with locations in LaPlace, Gramercy, Boutte and Ponchatoula.
“When you love who they are and accept everybody for who they are, that’s how everybody can get along,” Rodrigue said. “We don’t try to change anybody. We just love them for who they are. Family is so important.”
Rodrigue said his sisters have been instrumental as he underwent treatment, with guidance, support, meals and positivity. He completed six months of chemotherapy and, this week, he will complete six weeks of a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. He lost his hair. He lost more weight. But Rodrigue will ring the bell, which marks the completion of his treatment, early next month.
“I can’t wait,” Rodrigue said. “My family will be there. They’ve been so strong and supportive with me through this whole process. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Follow-up scans will determine if surgery is needed as a next step, but Rodrigue remains focused on the future and on encouraging others to act.
“I’ve got too much to live for,” he said. “Don’t wait. Go get checked.”
