March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and I am a 29-year survivor of colon cancer. When I was diagnosed, I was the youngest person the doctors had seen with colon cancer. Within a month of my diagnosis, I had surgery to make sure the cancer had not spread. I required no further treatments, and have had no recurrence since that time.
I started talking to groups of people through Public Service Announcements on television to bring awareness to the symptoms of colon cancer and the importance of early detection. The most important part of my mission was to make people aware that this was no longer an old person’s disease. Young people can, and do get colon rectal cancer.
If you have irregular bowel, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, or any unusual symptoms see your doctor and ask to be screened. More people are being diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer at an early age and many do not survive because they ignore their symptoms.
This may be a difficult topic to discuss… know your body and act quickly if you have any of the above symptoms.
Love and Best Wishes,
Tracy