Man With Stage 4 Colon Cancer Lists Six Symptoms He Wishes Would Not Have Ignored Earlier
Dec 12, 2024
News
There has been a significant rise in rates of colorectal cancer among young adults – which have mostly been attributed to lifestyle changes
For 28-year-old Joe Faratzis, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer five years ago, six red flags that he ignored on the condition seem like a guilt he has. Despite struggling with the symptoms, Joe says he kept on delaying them. “I put these symptoms off for months before finally going to get a colonoscopy,” he said in a TikTok video. “Don’t risk your life by waiting to see a doctor. Early screening could save you and your family.”
According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, the colon cancer guidelines 2021 have lowered the recommended age to start the screening from 50 to 45 years for adults at average risk.
Statistics say there has been a significant rise in rates of colorectal cancer among young adults, which have mostly been attributed to lifestyle changes. Colon cancer starts in your large intestine—the long tube that helps carry digested food to your rectum and out of your body. It usually develops from certain polyps or growths in the inner lining of your colon and subsequently spreads to other areas of the body.
Joe’s symptoms began with stomach pain
He said he began experiencing signs in 2019 with a mild pain in his tummy every time he would bend over. Even though he shared his concerns with his doctor, who ordered a CT scan, Faratzis confessed that he blew off the test, figuring it was not necessary.
However, six months later, he noticed blood on his toilet paper but again did not take it as a big deal, thinking it may have been caused by hemorrhoids. Finally, things got out of hand for him when he could not brush off his symptoms any longer.
“The big catalyst that motivated me to take my symptoms seriously occurred a few months later. I was sitting on the couch and I passed gas, looked down, and saw blood,” explained Faratzis, now 34. “I went to the bathroom and there was about half a cup of blood in the toilet. It wasn’t painful, but I was like, ‘Holy f–k—obviously there’s some issue here,” he said.
Symptoms of colon cancer Joe wishes he had not ignored
The six symptoms Joe says he now wishes he had not ignored:
- Constant night sweats
- Pain in the lower right abdomen
- More frequent trips to the bathroom
- Abdominal cramps when bending over
- Recurrent constipation
- Blood in stool
How does colon cancer affect people?
According to doctors, the colon wall is made of layers of mucous membrane, tissue, and muscle, and as the cancer begins in your mucosa, the innermost lining of your colon, it begins to mutate, creating a colon polyp. Over time, these polyps become cancerous and when left undetected, the cancer works its way through a layer of tissue, muscle, and the outer layer of your colon.
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men are more likely to develop this cancer than women, along with black people.
Lifestyle choices that are risk factors for colon cancer
- Smoking, including tobacco products and e-cigarettes
- Excessive drinking of alcohol, which includes two servings a day
- Eating high-fat, high-calorie foods that cause obesity and being overweight
- Having a diet that includes lots of red meat and processed meat
- Not doing any kind of physical activity
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