Cancer is something that most people don't begin to think about until later on in life, yet one woman has revealed the warning signs she followed before being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at just 28-years-old.
New scientific studies have revealed that young people are being diagnosed with cancer at an alarming and increasing rate, with a dangerous number of these being in the advanced stages of the disease making them more challenging to treat effectively.
It's understandable for young people to brush off worrying symptoms under the impression that it's unlikely for them to develop cancer at their age, yet one YouTuber has offered her own experience as both a warning and a guide.
Kalei Martin was diagnosed with colorectal cancer when she was just 28-years-old, having experienced a number of concerning symptoms before she eventually sought out the advice of her doctor.
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Having given birth to two children in the years prior to her diagnosis, Kalei brushed off many of her symptoms as postpartum side effects, although they eventually became too much to ignore.
One of the earliest signs that she remembers noticing was the change in her bowel movements, as they notably increased in frequency going from once every few days to sometimes multiple times per day.
She then started to notice blood present in her stools, which progressively got darker and even reached the point where clots were visible. She also recalls the catalyst for seeking out medical help being the moment that she bled from behind during regular intercourse with her husband.
Being young, healthy, and active she found it hard to believe that cancer was a possibility, and that appeared to be the perspective of the first two doctors she saw too, as they noted the absence of any haemorrhoids and saw no issue with her blood tests.
Persistence and being her own best advocate saw her push for an expedited sigmoidoscopy, which eventually revealed her colorectal cancer diagnosis.
She was initially diagnosed with stage two rectile cancer with a T3 tumor, and then a year later this transformed into stage four rectal cancer with metastatic spread to both of her lungs.
She not only pushes for people to be aware of the risks that young people face in relation to cancer – with one in five cases of colorectal cancer affecting people under the age of 50 – but also for people to push for proper diagnosis and analysis in medical settings as things can often go overlooked if you appear to be healthy otherwise.
"I don't want to see any young people being affected by this disease," she asserted, adding that "being on top of things, being in tune with your body, making sure that you are noticing just the slightest changes in your health are going to make a world of difference if anything were to end up being wrong."
She clarifies that she isn't encouraging people to be hypochondriacs or 'overreact' about certain symptoms, but "if you are experiencing the textbook symptoms of colorectal cancer, do not dismiss it just because you are young and you are generally healthy."