Battling Stage 4 Colon Cancer
- Sarah Beran, a 34-year-old mom of two living in Southern California, was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer after initially dismissing her symptoms of blood in her stool, frequent trips to the bathroom, and fatigue as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- The symptoms of colon [otherwise known as colorectal] cancer and IBS are similar, so it’s important to be vigilant about changes to your body and bring any concerning symptoms to your doctor promptly.
- Bowel cancer can lead to significant changes in bowel movements, changes in stool color, pain in the abdomen, and sudden weight loss. Meanwhile, IBS can lead to cramping, gas, diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating.
- Colonoscopies are the most effective way to screen for colon cancer, according to our experts, and they’re important for both prevention and early detection.
- The advantage of a colonoscopy is that your doctor can remove any polyps found during the test. Many colon cancers can be caught on colonoscopy before they develop or when the polyps are small enough to be removed without surgery.
- The American Gastrointestinal Association lowered the recommended initial age for a colorectal screening from 50 to 45.
Beran, who was 34 years old when she was diagnosed with the disease, back in April 2020, recently opened up about how she was determined to “beat” the disease upon learning she had cancer and what led her to push for answers.
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In response to the increased blood in her stool, she underwent a colonoscopy, which led doctors to find “100 polyps” on her colon and a mass on her rectum— ultimately leading her into “fight mode.”
“You get this strength you didn’t know you have,” she told The Post.
It’s now been three years since Beran was declared cancer free. Her treatment plan consisted of chemotherapy, having her colon removed and an ileostomy put in for five months, radiation treatment, and more surgery and radiation after learning her cancer had spread to her lungs.
She continues to get followup scans every six months until she reaches the five-years cancer free mark.
Beran has since founded the fashion brand Worldclass Clothing, with her friend Brooks Bell to raise awareness for colorectal cancer screenings.
Their website reads, “We were both successful professionals in our 30s when we were diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer. We survived, but the experience left a mark on us. And now we’re driven to keep others from having to go through the same thing.
“We’re rebels with a cause, and we firmly believe in the power of fashion and community to change health culture and save some perfect peaches. Every purchase will go towards paying for a colonoscopy for someone underinsured, and each of our high-quality, iconoclasstic designs is meant to start some back end conversations. We’re hellbent on making colon cancer a thing of the past.”
In an earlier interview with fitness trainer Karina Scott, Beran went into further detail about what led her diagnosis.
She explained, “So for a while I was having IBS issues, kind of cramps … so exhausted, but I thought that was from being a mom, motherhood … so a lot of these things was ignored for a little while and just kept going.
“I started having weird back pain, and I think that was associated with it but I’m not really sure … and then I started having blood in my poop, just urgently going to the bathroom all of the time, and I knew that wasn’t normal, so I started going to some doctors.”
Beran recalled her doctors initially suspecting she had internal hemorrhoids because she “looked find on the outside.”
Expert Colon Cancer Resources
- Considering Anal Rejuvenation After Colorectal Cancer Treatment
- Clinical Trials for Colorectal Cancer Can Offer Cutting-Edge Treatment
- Debating Over Treatment of Colorectal Cancer – The New Evidence About Watch and Wait
- Staying Active During Treatment — New Research Shows Light Exercise Can Make Chemo Much More Tolerable for Patients with Advanced Colorectal Cancer
- All Americans Should Begin Colorectal Cancer Screening at Age 45, According to New Guidelines; Previous Age Was 50
- Baby Aspirin For Colorectal Cancer Prevention Is Still OK, Just Check With Your Doctor First And Keep Up-To-Date On Your Screenings
- Colorectal Cancer Is On The Rise in Young Adults — Here’s What We Know
She continued, “No one was taking it very seriously, but I knew something was off and then finally I saw a GI and she thought it was a parasite, which was kind of crazy.”
It wasn’t until she pushed to be checked again after she saw more blood in her stool, which she knew wasn’t normal.” Thanks to that push, she was able to get a correct diagnosis.
RELATED: 5 Possible Signs of Colon Cancer; Don’t Be Afraid to Look in the Toilet!
Now she warns others to be their own advocate when it comes to anything related to your health.
She insists, “You have to be your own advocate. I know it’s embarrassing and no one wants to talk about poops and butts.
“There’s such a stigma about colonoscopies and poop, and butts, and there shouldn’t be. This is going to save … if you’re having poop issues, don’t be embarrassed, see a doctor.”
Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions
Understanding & Treating Colorectal Cancer
Colon cancer is a type of cancer that affects your large intestine (colon) or the end of your intestine (rectum). Your doctor might call this type of cancer colorectal cancer.
The cancer starts when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. If you don’t have these polyps removed, they can sometimes change into cancer. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become a full-blown cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts. If you get the recommended screenings, your doctor will have time to remove any polyps that form, before they can cause problems.
While experts don’t know exactly what causes colon cancer, they do point to certain risk factors, such as diet, smoking tobacco, and drinking alcohol. Having a family history of colorectal cancer can also increase the risk.
Both men and women can get colon cancer. Overall, it is the third most common cancer in people of both genders in the United States. But it’s also very preventable, with the recommended screenings.
Dr. Heather Yeo, colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, wants to remind people how far the treatment of this disease has come.
“One of the most exciting things about my job is that we’ve made a lot of progress on treatment options,” Dr. Yeo said in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. “However … while they’re living longer, [patients] are still living with colon cancer.”
She explained that patients with stage I to III colon cancer typically need to undergo surgery.
Choosing the Right Surgery for Your Colon Cancer While Avoiding Marketing Gimmicks
During surgery, the surgeon removes the section of the colon with the cancer, along with nearby lymph nodes — a procedure that’s known as a partial colectomy. Surgeons can perform it through an open incision, but increasingly it’s being done laparoscopically through several small incisions using specialized tools. Surgery is followed by chemotherapy to get rid of any cancer cells that might have been left behind.
Related: The Type of Colon Surgery Depends on the Location of the Tumor
After a partial colectomy, surgeons typically reconnect the two ends of the colon. But in some cases, the surgery creates enough of a disruption in the colon that it becomes difficult to have a normal bowel movement afterward. In that case, the surgeon will perform a procedure called a colostomy, creating a temporary or permanent opening through the belly through which stool can exit the body. Wastes collect in a pouch worn on the outside of the abdomen, called an ostomy bag.
“A colostomy or an ostomy, is taking the bowel and attaching it to the skin so the bowel movement would go into a bag, rather than out the anus and rectum,” Dr. Daniel Labow, chief of surgical oncology at Mount Sinai Health System, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
Colostomy sounds much worse than it is. “Once you get over the psychosocial effects, you can lead a totally normal life,” Dr. Labow says. “It’s not painful. It’s just getting used to a different way.”
The Spike in Colon Cancer Cases in Young Adults
The average age people are diagnosed with colon cancer is 68 for men and 72 for women, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, the National Cancer Institute reports that since the 1990s, colorectal cancer cases have been rising among adults younger than 50. Research published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians found that the proportion of cases in people younger than 55 “increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019.”
“We know rates are increasing in young people, but it’s alarming to see how rapidly the whole patient population is shifting younger, despite shrinking numbers in the overall population,” cancer epidemiologist and lead study author Rebecca Siegel said.
Researchers are still trying to determine why younger people are being diagnosed in more significant numbers. Some experts point to risk factors, which include obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking, as a possible explanation for the increase.
“We don’t know for sure why we are seeing earlier onset and death from colon cancer,” Dr. Yeo explained.
“It is likely a combination of factors, including diet and genetics as well as access to care and some environmental factors.”
WATCH: How Doctors Look for Polyps.
Most colon cancers can be prevented if people are regularly screened. The screening usually involves a colonoscopy, in which a long, thin tube attached to a camera is used to examine the colon and rectum. If no polyps are discovered, the following screening won’t be needed for ten years.
“We know that colon cancers can be prevented when polyps are found early,” Dr. Yeo told SurvivorNet. “Lowering the screening age helps somewhat with this, but access to care is a real problem,” Yeo added.
The American Gastrointestinal Association lowered the recommended initial age for a colorectal screening from 50 to 45.
Pushing For A Correct Diagnosis
When it comes to your health, be a little pushy. You know your body better than anyone else. When you see a doctor for a problem, don’t hesitate to make sure that your question is fully answered and that you are comfortable with the plan moving forward. From a doctor’s perspective, every problem should have a diagnosis, a treatment, a plan for follow-up, and a plan for what happens next if the treatment doesn’t work.
As a patient, if you don’t feel like each of these four things has been accomplished, just ask! Even if it requires multiple visits or seeing additional providers for a second opinion, always be your own advocate.
The Importance of Being Your Own Advocate
Dr. Zuri Murrell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet that healthcare guidelines are meant to do the right thing for the largest number of people while using the fewest resources.
“The truth is you have to be in tune with your body, and you realize that you are not the statistic,” he said.
Dr. Murrell told SurvivorNet that not every patient will “fit into the mold,” so it’s important to educate yourself and be your own health care advocate.
“Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn’t work, what the next plan is,” Dr. Murrell advised. “And I think that that’s totally fair. And me as a health professional that’s what I do for all of my patients.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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