![]() But one leading theory, says Marshall, starts with the microbiome, the harmonious community of bacteria that calls our bodies home. Why is this happening? As of now, there are no definitive answers. “They’re doing everything right, and they’re still getting colon cancer.” “It’s marathon-running, cardboard-eating patients,” he says. According to Marshall, incidence of colon cancer is rising among young people who are actually quite healthy, which runs contrary to known risk factors such as obesity and lack of exercise, often seen in those diagnosed over 50. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer at Georgetown University. It was a disease for old folks,” says Dr. “I’m an old guy, and when I trained, you didn’t even talk about colon cancer under the age of 50. In fact, between 19, colon cancer has increased by 51 percent in those ages 20-49, according to the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. This same paper also concludes that more research is needed to determine why colon cancer is increasing in young adults. Although the majority of new cases occurs in people 65 or older, 45 percent of men and 39 percent of women are younger than 65 years when diagnosed, according to a 2017 landmark paper by Rebecca Siegel, MPH, of the American Cancer Society. And now I’m that person in the magazine saying, I never thought it’d happen to me.”Ĭolon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer among both men and women in the United States. “You always read in magazines, I never thought it’d happen to me. “The first thing I did when I was diagnosed is I Googled ‘average age for females to be diagnosed with colon cancer.’ And it said 72. Zepeda was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. ![]() ![]() The next day, June 20, 2017, her GI doctor got her in for a sigmoidoscopy, or partial colonoscopy, since she wasn’t fully prepared for the colonoscopy. ![]() Despite knowing she was preparing for a colonoscopy, Zepeda says, the ER doctors wouldn’t do any scans, telling her that she was a young woman of reproductive age, and it was too much radiation for her abdomen. She experienced such a severe reaction, with cramping, nausea, and vomiting, that her husband took her to the emergency room, where she was given fluids and monitored for a few hours. “The laxative had zero effect on me, which I knew was weird,” Zepeda says. To prepare, patients are given laxatives the day prior. Why do I need a colonoscopy?”Ĭolonoscopies are largely regarded as the gold standard in colon cancer screening, says Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, whose mother passed away from colon cancer on Mother’s Day in 2009. Zepeda thought what most people her age might think: “I’m 33. To her relief, her doctor told her it was “just a bug”– E.coli, a bacteria found in contaminated food or water that can cause diarrhea.īut when her symptoms worsened to the point of constantly needing to go to the bathroom, she saw her doctor again. Around Memorial Day, Zepeda went in, had some testing, and a few days later received a call. It was easy to avoid for a long time.”įinally, Zepeda found a highly rated gastroenterologist who was also female, which was important to Zepeda, and despite the two-month wait, made an appointment. “But, like most people in DC, I’m a transplant, so I didn’t have a doctor. So Zepeda turned to the internet, and given her symptoms, realized she needed to see a gastroenterologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the digestive tract. In February, she started seeing blood in her stools.
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