Cancer Stories
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Laura Shook noticed a small amount of rectal bleeding for 2 months before seeing a gastroenterologist. The initial expectation was that internal hemorrhoids were the likely cause, but the doctor scheduled a colonoscopy to investigate.
When Laura woke from anesthesia, she learned that the colonoscopy had found cancer. Her husband, sitting beside her, asked the doctor to repeat the diagnosis 3 times because the news felt so unreal. A CT scan then showed that the tumor had grown through the rectum and involved 3 lymph nodes.
Laura shared her experience to emphasize the growing number of younger adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer and the need for screening to be available and affordable.
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Fight Colorectal Cancer. Read the original in full
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These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer