New research aims to find out why a growing number of young people are being diagnosed with colon cancer
It's been assumed that diet and something in the environment are causing the increase in colon cancer in people under 50. Now researchers want to have more specifics.
Maggie Sweeney looked like the picture of health and happiness in her early 30s. She was newly married and traveling for her honeymoon.
"I was always kind of having to stop and go to the bathroom. I thought it was IBS," she said.
Her symptoms included abdominal pain and blood in the stool that her doctor thought might be related to diet.
But Sweeney finally pushed for a colonoscopy, and she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 32.
"I was still surprised to learn it was cancer and frustrated with myself to know that it had been a long time that I was experiencing that," she said.
Doctors note an alarming increase in colorectal cancer in adults aged 18 to 50.
Now it's the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and the second leading cause in women of the same age, according to the American Cancer Society.
"We don't know what the underlying cause is," said Dr. Nilo Azad, associate director of clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.
Doctors said the majority of young patients do not have a family history, prompting researchers to look at other factors.
"Is it the amount of alcohol that people are consuming? Is it the actual diet?" said Azad. "We have an obesity epidemic in the United States."
Sweeney's cancer was fought with an immunotherapy treatment, radiation and surgery.
"I feel lucky to have my late 30s and 40s, and just the rest of my life ahead of me," she said.
A reality possible by pushing for answers when she knew something felt off.
March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. To raise awareness about the importance of early detection, it's recommended that people start screenings at age 45 unless there are risk factors or suspicious symptoms.
