A man has spoken about his experience after being diagnosed with stage three colon cancer, as rates for one type in particular are on the rise in young patients.
Over the past few years, multiple countries, such as the US and UK, have seen an increase in cases of colon-rectal cancers. According to the Cancer Research Institute, colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed type of cancer, as well as the third leading cause of death in men and women, with 1 in 5 diagnoses being those under the age of 55.
Meanwhile, the American Cancer Society estimated that, in 2026, there would be about 108,860 new cases of colon cancer diagnosed in the US alone, along with another estimated 49,990 diagnoses of rectal cancer.
Ram Danielle, who is from the US, received a devastating diagnosis of colon cancer and decided to take to social media to raise awareness of the potential symptoms he experienced.
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Taking to TikTok (@ramdanielle) to share his story, Ram explained that the first symptom that he noticed was 'stomach cramps' associated with severe constipation, which he said was 'not normal' for him.
Ram said that he had not gone to the bathroom for four days, and when the pain got more intense, he asked his parents to take him to the ER, where blood tests and an X-ray revealed he had a lot of faeces in his bowels, so doctors prescribed laxatives and sent him home.
However, he was still unable to go to the toilet, so he returned to the hospital, where medics conducted a colonoscopy that revealed a blockage in his colon.
Analysis of samples which were taken from his bowels revealed a devastating diagnosis - a 5cm tumor. Fortunately, doctors were able to remove the tumor surgically, and Ram was later informed that he had stage three colon cancer.
"Now, they've removed about 75% of my colon, and they also removed 39 lymph nodes," he explained. "I was in the hospital for 13 days just recovering. It was the most intense thing I've ever had to go through."
He went on to say that if he hadn't experienced constipation, then he wouldn't have found out about the tumor.
Ram added that he 'completely ignored' a lot of symptoms because he is 'super young', adding: "Like, cancers not gonna happen to me."
With cancer, early detection is extremely important as the earlier you spot that you have the condition the better your prognosis is likely to be.
Early detection can keep open treatment plans like surgery, as well as catch the cancer before it has the chance to spread to other parts of your body.
If you suspect that you may have a form of cancer, then it's important to get checked out. Not only that, if you are in a particular risk group, you should also go for regular checkups, regardless of symptoms, just to be on the safe side.
What are the symptoms of bowel cancer?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, these are some common symptoms of bowel cancer to watch out for:
- Abdominal (belly) pain
- Bloated stomach
- Blood on or in your stool (poop)
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Feeling like there’s still poop in your bowel even after you go to the bathroom
- Feeling tired or weak
- Unexplained weight loss
Topics: News, World News, Health, Cancer
Kit Roberts