I’m only 32 years old and thought I was in great health. I don’t smoke or drink. I eat a healthy diet and exercise each day. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I had colon cancer. It doesn’t run in my family and I have yearly checkups with my family doctor.
There were warning signs that I ignored because of my age. I attributed the symptoms to other things and so did my doctor.
Abdominal Pain
I started having abdominal pain, mainly on the left side and thought it was most likely just a cyst on my ovary, maybe a stomach ache, or even a case of constipation. By the time I noticed a constant pain, the tumor was well developed. Even after I mentioned it to my doctor, he believed it was constipation as well which was a partial factor that contributed to the pain. The tumor was almost completely blocking my colon and my ability to use the restroom was almost completely gone. I spent eight days in the hospital before I could rid my body of waste. I now take four laxatives per day and am waiting for a resectioning surgery.
Gas, Change in Bowel Habits
After having an exploratory surgery where my ovary was removed and I was treated for an abdominal abcess, I began having excessive gas, bloating, and a severe change in bowel habits. I once again, attributed these symptoms to something other than colon cancer. I thought that my recent surgery was the cause when in fact, these are all symptoms of colon cancer.
Fatigue and Anemia
Over a period of six months or so, I became extremely fatigued very easily and found myself sleeping more than usual. I talked myself into many excuses such as stress, working too much, and trying to be super mom. Even when I began to fall asleep on the sofa after work, I never thought there was a problem as severe as cancer.
After my first surgery, my doctor noted that I was anemic and assured me that it was normal and would work itself out. Even when I told him I was too exhausted to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom he assured me that I would regain my strength. Instead my exhaustion and anemia worsened.
Small Amount of Blood
I even had a small amount of blood in my stool and ignored that as well. It wasn’t severe by any means. In fact, I even questioned if it were blood. I thought that it looked that color because I drank orange-red fiber drinks, or prehaps it was an after affect of the surgery, possibly even just a small tear inside. It’s strange how many excuses I made for each symptom I had.
Looking back, there were so many warning signs of colon cancer over a period of about six months. It’s easy to make excuses about our health when we are young. I never thought someone my age would need to be aware of colon cancer symptoms.
