For years, Damon experienced rectal bleeding.
He did what we’re all told to do – he saw his doctor every year, kept up with his annual checkups, and brought it up at every appointment. Each time, he was reassured it was “just hemorrhoids.” He even asked about having a colonoscopy but was told to wait until he turned 45, the recommended screening age at the time.
After turning 45, Damon finally had that colonoscopy.
Within days, everything changed.
The colonoscopy led to an MRI, which revealed the unthinkable: stage IV colorectal cancer. The cancer had already spread throughout his liver, with more than 20 tumors of varying sizes.
One appointment had turned into the fight of his life.
The diagnosis came during the week of his son Huxley’s 11th birthday. Overnight, life looked completely different. Damon left a career he loved in Alaska and returned home to North Idaho to begin treatment, focusing all of his energy on what mattered most – his family and his future.
If you know Damon, you know one thing: he doesn’t quit.
He committed himself to fighting this disease with everything he had. Alongside chemotherapy and radiation, he transformed his lifestyle – eating clean, prioritizing lean proteins and vegetables, eliminating sugar and alcohol, exercising when he could, managing stress, and working closely with his medical team while exploring complementary therapies to support his overall health.
Since his diagnosis, Damon has undergone chemotherapy, radiation, surgery to remove his primary rectal tumor, and additional chemotherapy. He receives care locally through Beacon Cancer Clinic while also traveling to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was approved for a liver transplant.
For carefully selected patients like Damon – whose cancer is confined to the liver and has responded well to treatment – a liver transplant represents a new frontier in colorectal cancer care. What was once considered impossible is now offering renewed hope, with five-year survival rates reaching 80% in Mayo Clinic’s transplant program.
Today, Damon is still fighting.
Not just for himself, but for every person who has been told they’re “too young,” every family blindsided by a stage IV diagnosis, and everyone who might be spared by earlier screening or recognizing the warning signs.
Never Down Never Out was born from that fight.
Looking Ahead
Never Down Never Out began with our family’s fight against colorectal cancer, but we hope it becomes something much bigger.
Our long-term vision is to create a nonprofit organization that supports individuals and families in North Idaho affected by colorectal cancer by connecting them with trusted resources, education, community, and, when possible, financial assistance during one of life’s most difficult seasons.
We’re not there yet.
Today, our focus remains on Damon’s journey, raising awareness about early-onset colorectal cancer, encouraging lifesaving screenings, and sharing our story in the hope that it helps someone else.
Every conversation, every screening, and every story shared brings us one step closer to a future where fewer families face a late-stage diagnosis, and where no one has to navigate this journey alone.
“If sharing my story convinces just one person to get screened sooner, then every difficult day has a greater purpose. That’s what Never Down Never Out is all about.”
— Damon Earin
