I was diagnosed with cancer at 32, and doctors nearly missed one…

A stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor is sharing the symptoms she missed before her diagnosis in hopes of serving to others.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both males and girls in the U.S., and this sort of cancer begins as a growth of cells in either the colon or rectum.

According to the American Cancer Society, it’s estimated that over 150,000 Americans will probably be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2025. While this cancer is often discovered in older adults, between 2012 and 2021, the charges of colorectal cancer have elevated by 2.4% in people youthful than 50, which makes realizing what symptoms to look out for so important.

Children’s e-book creator Elayne Gorham shared a storytime on her TikTok about how she missed the symptoms of stage 4 colon cancer when she was 32.

She was diagnosed with colon cancer when her child was 6 months previous, and the tumor had been there for about a yr, according to her doctors.

“I had just had a baby, so I really didn’t think anything was wrong,” Gorham says. “What can you learn from me? Don’t be me… Educate yourself, know the symptoms, and then advocate for yourself.”

“Get that colonoscopy because colon cancer is the only preventable cancer there is,” she advises. “If they can go in there, get those polyps before they become cancerous, or at least before it becomes bad, then you don’t have to go through what I did.”

She has been cancer-free for 5 years now and continues to share her story to raise awareness so others don’t have to go through what she did.

Data from a current research discovered that early-onset colorectal cancer in people diagnosed under the age of 50, such as Gorham, is on the rise and growing by 1.4% every yr.

These are the symptoms of colon cancer she advises people to watch out for:

Bloating and a change in urge for food

In the two-week period main up to Gorham’s diagnosis, she remembers a change in urge for food that she is aware of now was a clear pink flag.

“I had a full feeling a lot,” she says. “I was pushing meals away — I can look back and remember that I felt bloated.”

Continuing, she provides, “I had just had a baby, so I really chalked it up to that.”

“I didn’t think anything was wrong.”

Extreme fatigue and weak spot

Weakness and fatigue are common indicators and symptoms related with colorectal cancer, per the American Cancer Society.

“Are you really fatigued all the time?” says Gorham. “I’m talking like an ungodly tired, I can’t explain why, I feel sick, that kind of tired — that’s a major red flag,” said Gorham.”

Abdominal pain

After Gorham had given beginning, she believed she had an ulcer because she was vomiting and having a “dull, aching feeling.”

However, she later found that this pain was truly the tumor urgent up against her abdomen.

“I thought [it] was an ulcer — it wasn’t; it was stage 4 cancer.”

The American Cancer Society lists cramping and stomach pain as common symptoms of colorectal cancer. Other common symptoms embrace a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, blood in stool, and unintended weight loss.

The current advisable age for a colonoscopy is 45. Gorham was diagnosed at 32, which is a testomony to understanding the symptoms and pink flags because this cancer is surging in early-onset instances.