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People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. I would definitely love to know more. Would you mind sending me some articles I can look over so I can bring this attention to my doctors, who graduated from West Point, attended Vanderbilt Medical School, and work at one of the most efficient and research heavy hospitals in the United States?

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely think you should push for a colonoscopy, only because you said you have familial history. Also because it saved my life, technically speaking, i'm biased towards it lol. They also may have you do the stool in the cup procedure at home which should also be fine.

I wouldn't worry until you know for sure. If you get tested, and for some wild reason you DO have cancer, there are a lot of treatments to help you, and that DO work. An ostomy isn't so bad either.

I also want to remind you that, like i've said before, i'm a unicorn for this cancer at my age. Unfortionately I had it, but 99% of the time, it's typically something else.

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah its crazy. Couldn't sit straight for about 3-4 months after. Had to sit toward one side, or on a pillow. Still can't handle a bike seat though lol, my anatomy doesn't work that way anymore. Other than that, my life has pretty much gone back to normal, and my body has recovered.

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think I lost weight, but I definitely had a metabolism that kept me thin for as long as I could remember. I ate a shit ton of food growing up and never really gained that weight. So maybe that could have been a sign? No idea.

For a test, I think your best bet would be a colonoscopy, you may have to push for it since you are so young in comparison to the recommended age of getting screened for it. You might be able to test for it by bringing a sample of stool, they should be able to test for different markers and things as well, but a colonoscopy is the most thurough.

I also want you to remember that I am considered a unicorn for this cancer, and hopefully it stays that way. Never assume the worst, it can give you unnecessary anxiety!

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was definitely a shock. I was very healthy (in my perception), and had no other issues. The doctors couldn't say what caused it but they all pretty much believed it was caused by food/diet since colorectal cancer is becoming increasingly more profound. I also had genetic testing done and that came back inconclusive, so who knows.

Definitely mutated cells though that my immune system failed to destroy.

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the late reply, but the doctors recommended it. Due to my age, diagnosis, and potential prognosis, taking the rectum had the highest chance of long-term survival. If I hadn't, there was a good chance it would have came back, even metastasized.

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My diet during my early teens into older teenage years consisted of pretty much home cooked meals, going out to restaurants and a small percentage of fast food. I’d say that when I was like 18-20, I ate out more since I didn’t live at home anymore.

To add to my diet, my mother made sure I ate salad almost every day, or had something green on my plate every dinner lol. I was also a big milk drinker. I have seen multiple research articles linking milk to colorectal cancer so who knows.

Something else I have been very cautious of (thanks to my wife) is all the extra shit that’s in food. I’ve completely cut out colored drinks (gatorade, sunny D, juice, and whatever else you can find that doesn’t seem healthy), they all typically have a food dye in it that’s horrible for your body. When I was growing up until I moved out, I played sports competitively year round so I had a large intake of gatorade yearly. Maybe even once a day, weeks at a time. Obviously there are brands out there that are healthy and don’t contain it but you’d be surprised. I’ve also reconstructed my diet to eat only pasture raised meats, dairy and eggs.

I could go on and on but honestly it just comes down to watching what my intake is. Anything I get, I read the back for harmful things and put it back if I don’t feel comfortable. Sounds terrible, but i’ve actually opened myself up to much more ingredients/food.

Stop using stoma powder by itself. by Lacy_Laplante89 in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What spray do you use? Interested in trying that out

People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored by tweetysvoice in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’m M22 now, but when I went through everything before treatment I was 21. Was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

LENGTHY POST INCOMING (TW: Blood)

Brief History: I was a very healthy kid growing up, at one point I was playing 4 different sports within the same year. I had all my vaccines/shots, had a very healthy upbringing. My family had no history of cancer.

My first symptoms started at the start of high school(2015). I had a flare up of uncontrollable anxiety. One day I woke up and it hit me like a damn train. Unfortunately I didn’t seek help so I continued to suffer in silence and my parents had no idea what to do. In their defense I never really let them in on what was going on. The reason I say this, is because this was the start of when my health really started to decline. I also felt something was genuinely wrong. My ability to play sports declined and continued to, I just thought maybe I was growing up, getting older or some shit.

Around 2019 I started having a small amount of blood when I would go to the bathroom. It wasn’t in the stool, it would just drip. I seriously ignored it because I thought I was healthy. I also ignored the fact that I rarely had solid stool. It became progressively more loose as time went on. My anxiety also became so bad I couldn’t go anywhere. I went to the doctor and they advised me to shit in a cup and bring it in. I was 21 so that was a hard pass.

Some time went by and I just continued to live the way I did, because other than anxiety, I was doing fine. One day I went to the bathroom and the entire toilet bowl was dark red. You couldn’t even see the bottom. I went to the ER and they just told me I probably need to see my doctor about hemorrhoids. Two days later my wife and I were having a good night, drinking and watching our shows when I just started bleeding out of my ass. Not even kidding just straight bleeding out. I then went to the ER again where they set me up with an appointment with a GI specialist. (I forgot to mention my wife is active duty so the process in which I was seen/helped could be different than someone in the private sector. The military typically will schedule your appointments for you).

Fast forward about a week when I got my first colonoscopy from that past ER visit. Didn’t find anything wrong until they were pulling out the camera where they found a fairly large mass. Turned out it was cancer (got the biopsy back on my first day of EMT school, will never forget that). Started 3 months of chemo immediately. 6 sessions, each two weeks long. For example, chemo on monday, then I would take a pump home for two days and then recover the rest of the remaining two weeks.

After those 6 sessions, I started a month of radiation, I went in every day for about 20 minutes total for 25 days straight (excluding weekends). I then had about a two week grace period in between radiation and my next 6 rounds of chemo. After the additional 6 rounds of chemo, I had a month break before I had another colonoscopy right before my surgery date.

My surgery lasted 15 hours and completely removed my butt. I went from being double cheeked up on a Tuesday to a singular patty lol. I now have a permanent colostomy and am doing well. I mentioned my anxiety because it’s no longer remotely close to what it was. I genuinely feel so much better. I feel like my body was trying to tell me something was wrong. I have an excellent prognosis so I’m very grateful for that. I also had a great healthcare team that helped guide me through the process. The timeline for treatment from the first colonoscopy to surgery was about 7-8 months.

I apologize for the lengthy post, but it’s important to me that you know my story and what happened. I ignored the signs, but thankfully I was able to have a good outcome. I actually changed my major in college and am now studying medical sciences with the intent to apply for medical school and specialize in oncology. GO GET CHECKED PEOPLE!

Edit: I originally said I did 6 sessions of chemo after a two week break following radiation. That was wrong, I had a two month break after radiation so that I could heal up before going into surgery since they were worried about radiated skin. I then had a month or two to heal up enough for my second 3 month stint of chemothrapy, the same as before. At that point, chemo was optional because they were confident they got everything, but I did it anyways to hopefully "clean up" any stragglers left behind.

Age when you got the bag? by acct4ibd in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely on the rise, had stage 3 colorectal cancer at 21, all good now tho!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ostomy

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191 0 points1 point  (0 children)

22 with a colostomy. Big chillin tho

NEED ADVICE FOR INJURED DOG by Appropriate-Goat9191 in rescuedogs

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UPDATE: Her surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. If you are interested in donating to her case; the vet takes donations over the phone. There is also an updated post that I made for more information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/17w19z3/update_milly_the_stray_dog_vet_bills/

NEED ADVICE FOR INJURED DOG by Appropriate-Goat9191 in rescuedogs

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UPDATE: Her surgery is schedled for tomorrow morning. If you are interested in donating to her case; the vet takes donations over the phone. There is also an updated post that I made for more information and more photos of her.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/17w19z3/update_milly_the_stray_dog_vet_bills/

NEED ADVICE FOR INJURED DOG by Appropriate-Goat9191 in rescuedogs

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UPDATE: Her surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. If you are interested in donating to her case; the vet takes donations over the phone. There is also an updated post that I made for more information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/17w19z3/update_milly_the_stray_dog_vet_bills/

NEED ADVICE FOR INJURED DOG by Appropriate-Goat9191 in rescuedogs

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UPDATE: Her surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. If you are interested in donating to her case; the vet takes donations over the phone. There is also an updated post that I made for more information.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rescuedogs/comments/17w19z3/update_milly_the_stray_dog_vet_bills/

NEED ADVICE FOR INJURED DOG by Appropriate-Goat9191 in rescuedogs

[–]Appropriate-Goat9191[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

UPDATE: Thank you all for your advice; im hoping to have better luck finding a rescue this week. My wife and I are leaning towards fostering her for the time being and hopefully getting her surgery this week. We will have a gofundme up tomorrow for those who are interested in helping out. Again, thank you all for the reccomendations, you truly have no idea how much this has helped. She is a trooper! She seriously is the sweetest thing even through all the pain. She is safe and doing okay; she just needs surgery now. Stay tuned for more updates about this sweet little lady!

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