- People under 50 in the US are dying from colorectal cancer at an increasing rate.
- Common symptoms include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency.
- Three people under 50 diagnosed with the disease share the first symptoms they noticed.
More people under the age of 50 are dying of colorectal cancer than ever before, according to the American Cancer Society. And research suggests that patients in this age group can experience distinct symptoms.
Generally, cancer risk increases with age and people aged 65 or older are most likely to be diagnosed, but this trend is shifting. Since the ’90s, overall cancer cases have risen in people under 50, but not in those aged between 50 and 65, or the over 65s, the ACS’s 2024 cancer statistics report found.
Colorectal cancer in this age group is a particular concern, rising from the fourth deadliest form of cancer among men and women under 50 in the late 90s to the first among men and the second among women. The leading cause of cancer death for younger women is breast cancer, the report said.
Experts don’t know what’s causing the uptick in cases of colorectal cancer among younger adults, but it likely reflects changes in lifestyle exposures that began with generations born around 1950, the authors of the report said.
“What we suspect may be happening is that whatever combination of environmental factors is responsible for this, that it’s likely changing our microbiomes or our immune systems, leading us to become more susceptible to these cancers at a younger age,” Dr. Kimmie Ng, the director of the Young Onset Colorectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told NBC. She was not involved in the report.
However, almost one in three people diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 50 have either a family history of the disease or a genetic predisposition, meaning those who are aware of this should begin screening before they turn 45, the report said.
Abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency are common symptoms in people under 50
Colorectal cancer starts when the cells in the colon or rectum begin to grow out of control, often resulting in a growth known as a polyp, which can develop into cancer. The disease is sometimes called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where it starts.
Symptoms typically include abdominal pain, weight loss, weakness and fatigue, blood in the stool, the feeling that you need to poop that doesn't go away once you've been to the toilet, and changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea and constipation.
But research suggests that colorectal cancer patients under 50 are more likely to experience four specific symptoms: abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency, in the three-month to two-year period before getting diagnosed.
When colorectal cancer is caught early, before it has spread, the chance a person will live for another five years is about 90%. This decreases the more advanced the cancer gets, which means recognizing the signs early is crucial.
Three people under 50 shared the early symptoms they had, which led to a diagnosis, to help raise awareness of the disease.
JJ Singleton had throbbing abdominal pain and lost five pounds in a week
At age 27 in 2015, JJ Singleton noticed a throbbing pain in his abdomen, but dismissed it as a post-workout pulled muscle.
Three months later, he lost five pounds in a week, was pooping blood, and shivered in 90-degree heat after a CrossFit competition, but he put off going to the doctor.
"Every time I ate or drank anything, I would have intense pain in my stomach and I would throw up. I was maybe using the bathroom once every couple days because I was barely having any bowel movements," he previously told Business Insider.
After enduring these symptoms for a month, he finally went to the doctor where he had a colonoscopy, a test where a tiny camera goes through the bowels, and was diagnosed with stage two colon cancer.
After some genetic testing, his doctors learned that Singleton had Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition where a mutation in certain genes increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 20 to 80%.
Despite having surgery and chemotherapy, Singleton's cancer remains. He was put on a trial treatment that worked well enough to keep it from spreading any further.
Tom McKenna noticed bloody mucus on his poop
Tom McKenna, who lives in the UK, noticed that he was going to the bathroom more often than usual and was having frequent diarrhea in 2020, when he was 42 years old.
"I noticed a horrible bloody mucus on my stools and on the toilet paper," he previously told BI in an email. He also felt lethargic but put that down to working too hard and not getting enough sleep.
Although he felt generally fine, he decided to go to the doctor because the diarrhea concerned him. He had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that day, meaning it had spread to his liver. After undergoing two surgeries, his scan in December 2022 was clear.
Paula Chambers Raney had extremely low iron levels and painful gas
When Paula Chambers Raney was 43 in 2014, she started experiencing diarrhea, painful gas, and stomach gurgling after meals.
She felt exhausted halfway through the day, couldn't keep food down, and upon getting a blood test to check if she could donate blood, discovered that she had extremely low iron levels.
Doctors kept dismissing her symptoms as a stomach bug, acid reflux, or irritable bowel syndrome, she previously told BI. But after she continued to defecate blood, lost 40 pounds, and fell to the floor one morning, she went to the hospital where she was initially diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer.
Doctors operated immediately, removing a baseball-sized tumor, along with 34 lymph nodes and 23 centimeters of Raney's colon. During surgery, the doctors discovered that the cancer had not spread to her lungs or lymphatic system, meaning it hadn't progressed beyond stage one.
She now visits her gastroenterologist regularly, eats healthy, exercises, and raises awareness of the signs of colorectal cancer.
If you have an interesting health story to share, contact Kim Schewitz: [email protected]