Survivor of colon cancer shares the symptoms that saved her life

A young mother has discovered the symptoms that led to her colorectal diagnosis of phase 3.

About 150,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with colorectal cancer, and an increasing number of young people are finding themselves fighting the disease.

Although the typical recommendation is to start colonoscopy at 45, the Mahon horn noticed some red flags that pushed him to get a colonoscopy in 31-choice that would prove to be saved from life.

A shock 20% of colorectal cases in 2019 were discovered in people younger than 55, from 11% in 1995.

Alarmingly, this new demographic tends to be diagnosed in the later stages of the disease, partly because doctors and patients are quick to dismiss or maldiagnor symptoms.

Mahon recalled that she has always suffered from low -scale GI concerns, saying in Tiktok, “previous years, I have only had intestinal issues in general, many bloating, many signs that would show more to IBS. “

She maintained a clean gluten, milky and soybean diet to relieve irritation and received a panel of allergies and blood tests, but no obvious source was found for her boredom.

Two years ago, she noticed a significant decrease in her energy levels and an increase in her anxiety.

“I really had to withdraw from the work I was doing. I had panic attacks, and I think it is just because my body was really, really tired and passing everything that is going through, growing a Tumor, ”she said.

Colon cancer, like many other cancers, coincides with feelings of total exhaustion; Approximately 8% of young patients report symptoms of fatigue in the months before a diagnosis. Tumor -created hormones can impoverish energy and contribute to general mistreatment.

After giving birth to twin boys in 23 weeks, Mahon initially assumed that the blood on her bench and the exhaustion she felt were symptoms after birth.

“I thought the bleeding was merely hemorrhoids from pregnancy,” she explained. “My symptoms of IBS were staring, and I just a kind of thought that was so.

“My boys spent four months in Nicu, I thought it was Stress. I thought it was depression. I thought it was anxiety. I justified it in my head. ”

Recent research found that the most common red flag for colorectal cancer among young people was the bleeding of the rectum, as nearly half of those diagnosed reported blood on their toilet paper or their toilet bowl.

Hemorrhoids bleeding is usually a bright red color due to blood originating from the anus or rectum. Meanwhile, blood from colon cancer tends to be dark red, on the border with black because it springs higher in the digestive tract, giving it more time to oxidize and darken.

While blood can be a symptom of colon cancer, other causes of rectum bleeding include IBD, anal cracks and hemorrhoids. In any case, a medical professional must address and evaluate this type of bleeding.

“It was definitely a sign that something was wrong,” Mahon said.

“I really worried when the blood turned much darker, and my urgency to go to the bathroom was a kind of control, and I would either be crazy or I would go to the bathroom, and only dark blood would make you go out. “

Experts note that while the occasional constipation is not a cause for concern, if your bath habits change dramatically and you stop for weeks or months at a time may be a sign that cancer is obstructing your intestines.

Very thin stools can also be a sign, as can be heavy diarrhea.

Alarmed by the color and frequency of blood on her bench, Mahon referred to a Gi doctor who initially thought she had an autoimmune disease.

“After receiving the colonoscopy, she told me she was sure she was cancer. We did 10 biopsy during the colonoscopy, and then discovered that it was stage 3 cancer,” she recalled.

The disease is caused by changes in DNA, which can be inherited by parents or earned later in life by consuming a western diet with low and high fat fibers, adopting a sedentary lifestyle, drinking too much alcohol and /or smoking.

Due to the disturbing trend of cancer cases that grow to young people, the US Task Force Task Force updated its colorectal cancer control instructions in 2021 to reduce the age recommended to begin examination from 50 to 45 to Adults at moderate risk.

For those with a close family history or certain intestinal diseases like Crohn, the recommendation is even earlier.

Mahon is now cancer without a healing process that included several rounds of chemotherapy, a collectomy with ileostomy, hormone therapy, and later a reverse ileostomy.

Experts agree that early detection and treatment are essential for survival with colorectal and other cancers.