There have been more than 100,000 new cases of colon cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. If it spreads, it is considered metastatic colon cancer. That's what happened to one father whose diagnosis took an extraordinary turn. 

Jason Colline is the kind of person who lights up any room. A few years ago, his light dimmed, and he had no idea that someone close to him would be the one to reignite it. 

In Jan. 2022, Colline sensed something was wrong when stomach pain led to a devastating diagnosis after getting an ultrasound done by his doctor. 

"You have stage four cancer, you have cancer in your liver," said Jason, recounting what he was told by his doctor.

This pushed Jason into a tough journey of chemotherapy. By October, doctors removed the primary tumor, but a liver transplant was still critical. 

 “I put a post on Facebook looking for a donor," Jason said

Countless friends offered help, but Jason's son Justin was determined to save his father by being a living donor. 

"He came to me about eight, nine months in and he was like 'Dad, I know you don't want me to do it,'" Jason said.

"A lot of people have probably envisioned kind of like having a hero moment in their life. I felt like it was a moment that I could really step up and make a genuine impact," said Justin Colline.

"To purposely put him on a table and have him operated on with something that serious was just ... it goes against parenting," Jason said.

After extensive testing and consultations, they proceeded with the transplant at the University of Rochester Medical Center, which is said to be the leader in performing living donor transplants. 

“Nowadays, we are able to help some of these patients with liver transplantation, and their survival could be as high as 80% at five years or even more," said Dr. Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, director of live donor liver transplants at URMC.

In Dec. 2023, Jason received 60% of Justin's liver in a very cautious but successful surgery. 

"We did the operation and replaced it with this portion of the liver from his son, both of them have been excellent, said Alejandro.

"Pretty much by the time you're out of the hospital, a couple of weeks after that, it's really not too bad. And now I feel like, you know, I couldn't even tell the difference," Jason said.

Today, Jason is cancer-free, thriving, and filled with gratitude. 

"I've been telling people that this is the second time he saved my life because I was a teenage parent and he's been my driving force," said Jason.

Alejandro noted that only about 27 centers in the U.S. perform liver transplants for colon cancer patients and the URMC's liver transplant program is highly sought out by patients from across the country.