Newswise — LOS ANGELES (May 14, 2024) -- Michelle Usher knew something was wrong when she became too tired to hold a paint brush or read a book. The avid oil painter and voracious reader could devour 100 novels and memoirs a year until late 2022, when overwhelming exhaustion set in.
Usher consulted her primary care physician, who ordered blood tests that revealed Usher had anemia, a condition caused by not having enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body's tissues. To determine the source, Usher’s physician sent her to a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy to check for polyps or cancer.
The procedure revealed the culprit of Usher’s anemia: a colon tumor that would later be diagnosed as stage 2 colon cancer. Usher, then 37 years old, was stunned. Like many, Usher thought she was too young to get colon cancer.
“I was in shock,” Usher said. “I was really like, ‘God, what are you trying to teach me here?’”
Colorectal cancer in those younger than 55 has been steadily rising by 1% to 2% during the past 30 years, according to the American Cancer Society. The increase has been driven mostly by Native Americans and white people, although Black people are still more likely to get colorectal cancer at a young age.
The rise led experts to reduce the recommended age to begin colorectal cancer screenings from 50 to 45 several years ago. But the cause isn’t entirely clear.
“Risks of colorectal cancer can include lifestyle, obesity, a low-fiber diet, alcohol and tobacco. We attribute some of this to the rise of cancer in younger people,” said colorectal surgeon Juliane Golan, MD, with Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai. “But there may be new factors that have not been completely unearthed yet—changes in the normal bacteria in our gut that may be related to diet and environmental exposures that are leading to these increased cancers.”
Catching Cancer Early
Getting diagnosed with cancer at such a young age frightened Usher, who already had been managing two chronic conditions, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. She wasn’t expecting a third diagnosis that could possibly lead to death.
In January 2023, Golan performed robotic surgery on Usher to remove the cancerous tumor and a section of her colon.
“She had a very early-stage cancer, luckily,” Golan said. “She did not have to undergo chemotherapy. She was cured with just surgery.”
Today, Usher is 39 and grateful for her health and the new opportunities it has brought her. She is back to devouring books, recently took up watercolor painting and got married.
“I'm feeling great now. I feel like I have a new lease on life,” Usher said. “I'm able to put things into perspective and let the little things go that maybe easily upset me before.”
Golan credits Usher’s recovery to her positive attitude and the tremendous support she received from her loved ones.
“Getting the cancer diagnosis was a big surprise to her, but she really dealt with it with such grace,” Golan said. “But one thing I think is truly important, for any patient with cancer, is she had her family. I saw her mom and her dad at every appointment. Having that familial support, whether it's actual family or close friends, I think is something really important to get patients through the cancer process.”
Usher also is thankful for her medical team at Huntington Cancer Center, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. She appreciated her nurse navigator, who guided her through the surgery process, and especially Golan.
“The rise in colorectal cancer among younger patients is one of many factors that strengthens our commitment to precision detection and prevention of this disease,” said Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the PHASE ONE Foundation Distinguished Chair. “We are also continually opening new clinical trials to bring leading-edge therapies to these patients to improve survival rates and quality of life.”
Avoiding Cancer at a Young Age
Usher hopes her story will encourage other people to listen to their body, seek help from their physicians and get colonoscopies. Golan agrees, stressing the importance of screening, especially for adults 45-50 years old.
“The whole point of a colonoscopy is to find precancerous lesions early, so we can take them out and they never have the chance to grow into cancer,” Golan said. “Even if we, unfortunately, find cancer or a tumor, stage 1 to 3 of colorectal cancer essentially is curable.”
To reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer, Golan says maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle is key: eating a healthy, high-fiber diet, limiting red meat, avoiding tobacco, enjoying alcohol in moderation, and getting exercise.
She also encourages young people to watch for symptoms like unexplained blood in their stool, darkening of the stool and abdominal pain. She recommends getting established with a primary care provider who can order routine, annual lab tests to check for anemia.
“If you're having those symptoms, seek care,” Golan said. “Don't just assume it's something normal or benign, like hemorrhoids. Make sure that it's nothing more serious.”
Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: The Need for Colorectal Cancer Screening in the Hispanic Community
RSS