Colorectal Cancer Rising in Young Adults

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A trend has doctors sounding the alarm when it comes to cancer. GI specialists at St. Elizabeth Healthcare say this trend has to do with the changing face of colon cancer.

Just a few months ago, when Jessica Degutis was referred to Dr. Jai Bikhchandani, or Dr. B as he's known, she was experiencing some unusual symptoms.

“I was experiencing abdominal pain,” said Degutis.

Blood tests and a colonoscopy eventually led to a diagnosis of colon cancer. Surgery was immediately scheduled.

Younger patients, such as Degutis, are being diagnosed more often with that disease. “What we have started seeing is people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are having more and more cancers and maybe aggressive cancers,” said Dr. Bikhchandani.

It may be that younger patients just don't seek medical attention with something like prolonged abdominal pain. “They just ignore a lot of warning symptoms and they end up having higher advanced stage cancers,” said Dr. Bikhchandani.

“I'm one of the lucky people that had symptoms and caught it before it metastasized,” said Degutis.

If you do notice prolonged GI symptoms, ask your doctor for a referral to a GI specialist.