I Was “Too Young” to Have Colon Cancer

as told to Shannon Shelton Miller

I was delighted to be pregnant with my first child at 29 years old. Everything was fine for about eight months, until the day I went to the bathroom and the bathroom was full of blood. I immediately called my OB-GYN because I was afraid something was wrong with my baby.

At the appointment, he assured me that we were both fine. It was probably just hemorrhoids or my baby was starting to rest on my organs as he grew, which caused some bleeding.

But new symptoms began to appear. I was dizzy, had severe abdominal pain, and couldn’t sleep at night. My OB-GYN told me that all of this was normal during pregnancy. I had never been pregnant before, so I thought it made sense.

2016 (Photo/Images by Michael D)

The bleeding and crushing fatigue did not stop after giving birth to my son, Cameron. Again, I was told this was normal for a new mom. Even when I continued to have vaginal and rectal bleeding months after giving birth, my OB-GYN only suggested changing my birth control.

When Cameron turned 1, I knew something had to give because the bleeding wouldn’t stop. This time I went to a primary care doctor, who first gave me pills for
irritable bowel syndrome. If that didn’t work, he said, he would send a referral to a gastrointestinal specialist.

Weeks later I had to see the specialist since the pills had done nothing. “You’re too young to be sitting in my office,” he said. “What’s happening?” I told him my symptoms and he ordered a colonoscopy.

When I woke up in the operating room after that procedure, the doctor and four nurses were there, along with my husband, Derrick. The room seemed too crowded and I asked what was going on.

My doctor showed me pictures of my colon and told me I had cancer.

“No, I don’t,” I said. We had established a good relationship, so I started to laugh a little. “Okay, what’s really going on?”

He kept a serious face. “I would never joke about something like this,” he said. “You definitely have cancer.”

A few weeks later, my mother, husband and I met with the oncologist. He walked past us, sat down, and said, “Well, you have stage 4 cancer and…” He continued talking, but I didn’t hear anything after that. I just knew it couldn’t be as bad as what I was hearing in my head.

Was. He said that I was an extremely rare case due to my age and good health. Genetic testing showed nothing. We had no family history of cancer. I was healthy, I played sports, I didn’t grow up eating red meat, I couldn’t understand it.

I didn’t want to think about treatment at that moment. I told my family that I wanted to go to the sunflower patch next to my house because I had never been. We picked sunflowers and took pictures. It was such a beautiful day. Then we picked up my son from daycare and I carried him the rest of the day.

The last seven years have been very difficult. I have had multiple rounds of chemotherapy and surgeries. After my diagnosis, I had a foot of my colon, two parts of my liver, and my gallbladder removed. He was very weak and could not walk. My toddler couldn’t sit on my lap and I couldn’t pick him up. I couldn’t even hold it by myself.

The cancer was already in my liver when I was diagnosed. And, over time, the cancer spread to my lungs and lymph nodes. I got spots all over my body, but one on my heel was noticeably darker and I asked my oncologist to check it out. It turned out to be a precancerous melanoma. I had to have surgery to remove it and it was incredibly painful because it was in my heel and they couldn’t numb it. They took a chunk out of my heel and I couldn’t walk, drive or do anything on my own for four months. He was simply helpless.

2023 (Jommy Photography)

There were some brilliant moments during that time. I was in remission for most of 2021 and 2022, and 2022 was one of the best years of my life. I started exercising again, doing Pilates, hanging out with my friends, and playing baseball with my son; It was wonderful. I was even able to stop treatment. But before that Christmas, they found cancer in the lymph nodes in my chest. My doctors wanted me to start treatment before Christmas and I said I couldn’t. First I had to have my perfect Christmas. I’m glad I did it, because it was wonderful.

I started treatment again in January 2023 and have to continue treatment for the rest of my life. My regimen consists of three days of chemotherapy in hospital and at home, and then I’m off work for three weeks. I remain busy as the managing director of a technology-focused startup. I work a lot and travel a lot; I had life goals before I got sick and I am determined to do everything I can to achieve them. Now I’m 38, Cameron is 8, and I try to enjoy as much time as possible with my family.

I started sharing my story after attending a Colorectal Cancer Alliance event in 2019. At the dinner, they asked the audience to stand up and share their stories. There were actors and dancers on stage acting out everything you said. It was very cool.

I was nervous, but I got up and told my story. People applauded and came up to give me a hug. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

To this day, no one knows why I developed colon cancer and why it occurred during my pregnancy. Was it the rapid generation of cells that took place to grow a new human being inside my body? That’s the only link I can think of, because I’m the only person in my family who has it. Since I had no family history or risk factors for colon cancer, I know that my young age did not help in getting an early diagnosis.

That’s why I always tell people to do everything they can to advocate for themselves to their healthcare providers because they don’t know what they don’t know. No doctor knows everything. Tell your doctor that you won’t leave the office until they look deeper into your problem because it’s your body and you know best when something is wrong.

This educational resource was created with the support of Daiichi Sankyo and Takeda.

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