KANSAS CITY, Mo. — According to the American Cancer Society, 154,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year alone. But perhaps the more concerning trend is that more and more younger adults, in their 20s and 30s, are getting diagnosed.
Since the mid-1990s, there has been a consistent annual increase of 2% in new cases among people between 20 and 39-years-old.
“One in five cases or so of colon cancer are people that are less than 50 years of age,” said Dr. Gautam Desai, professor of Primary Care at Kansas City University.
Dr. Desai says people should look out for unexplained weight loss, increased need to use the bathroom and changes in stool size or persistent bleeding.
One-third of the causes are genetics-related, but poor lifestyle accounts for the rest.
“Just being sedentary is a risk factor, the things we eat. like processed foods, may play a role, the chemicals we’re taking in,” said Desai.
Olivia Langton is a fourth-year medical student at Kansas City University. She decided to pursue gastroenterology upon finishing residency at University of Minnesota after the cancer hit way too close to home.
“During my first year of medical school, I found out my little brother was diagnosed with colorectal cancer,” said Langton. “Seeing him go through that, it gave me just a more human aspect to medicine.”
Anthony Langton led an active lifestyle. He had just turned 21, when less than ten days later, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer.
“It was just like whoa… like this is so real" Langton said. "I just learned about this entire system and now we’re going into the cancer, and how cancer develops, and that’s exactly what I’m seeing in my brother right now. Seeing him go through that, it gave me just a more human aspect to medicine.”
Her brother is now cancer-free, working full-time in Oregon and planning to graduate this year with his MBA.
They believe knowing when to go to the doctor saved his life.
As for Langton, it is not a chance she is willing to take. She gets a yearly colonoscopy of her own.
“If something just doesn’t seem right, don’t be afraid to reach out to a doctor,” said Langton.