When oncologist Dr. Raed Al-Rajabi began treating cancer patients 14 years ago, he expected much of what he would see would be “horrible.”
But he didn’t imagine that the job would become what it is today: treating dying 20-year-olds.
Since Dr. Al-Rajabi became a cancer specialist, the percentage of patients under 55 years of age with colorectal cancer has increased it almost doubled. One of his patients was just 14 years old.
About 70 percent of these young people are so sick (having gone undiagnosed for too long) that there is now little doctors can do to help.
Dr. Al-Rajabi is an associate professor of medical oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and leads the treatment of colorectal cancer, and the cases he sees at the hospital are, he told DailyMail.com, “heartbreaking.”
The graph above shows the rise of colorectal cancer in young Americans from 1999 to 2020. Rates briefly decreased during Covid, likely due to missed screenings and diagnoses, but have been increasing since then.
Evan White is pictured above with his fiancée Katie Briggs and their dog Lola. Evan is just one of the millions who are diagnosed with colon cancer at a young age. Evan was not a patient of Dr. Al-Rajabi
More than 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and approximately 50,000 of them will die from the disease, according to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
People are on average 66 years old when they are diagnosed, but the age has been decreasing.
About 20 percent of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019 were under 55 years old. That’s nearly double the rate in 1995, where 11 percent of colorectal cancer patients were under age 55, according to American Cancer Society (ACS).
If you catch colon cancer early, before it spreads to other parts of the body, your chances of survival are good. About 90 percent of people diagnosed early live for the next five years.
In the later stages, when the disease has spread, the chances of survival are slim: Only 13 to 18 percent of people with advanced colon or rectal cancer live five years after being diagnosed.
But detecting it early can be difficult because many of the disease’s symptoms are similar to those that would occur with common digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, which affects about one in 20 Americans.
These include abdominal pain, changes in bowel movements, unexpected weight loss, fatigue, changes in appetite, constipation, bloating, and blood in the stool.
The graph above shows the change in cancer case rates around the world.
The graph above shows the change in cancer death rates around the world.
Unfortunately, Dr. Al-Rajabi told this website, late detection is the case for the majority of the youth he sees.
But he said his clinic isn’t the only place seeing this shift: Colleagues across the country and the world have increasingly been diagnosing a younger demographic.
One patient, Dominique McShain, 21, originally from New Zealand, was studying psychology while working part-time in human resources when she was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer earlier this year, she said in a statement. Tik Tok.
New Zealand has the second highest rate of cancer in people under 50 years of age.
Doctors told him that since the cancer had taken over his liver, it was probably incurable. They predicted he had between one and five years to live.
About two weeks after her diagnosis, she started chemotherapy, lost her hair, and stopped going to college.
Evan White, 24, of Dallas, Texas, had just graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Arkansas when he was diagnosed with colon cancer after months of dismissing his main symptom, fatigue.
The tumor was not detected until it had spread and was stage three, making it much more difficult to treat. White was on track to marry his girlfriend and move to California, but his dreams were cut short when he died after a four-year battle with the disease.
And Marisa Maddox, a paralegal from Delaware, was robbed of the chance to have the big family she had always wanted after a colon cancer diagnosis at age 29 left her infertile.
Dr. Raed Al-Rajabi is an associate professor of medicine in the division of medical oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and leads the gastrointestinal medical oncology group. He treats patients and researches possible new therapies.
This is a “devastating” diagnosis for anyone, Dr. Al-Rajabi said, but especially for younger patients, it “turns their entire life upside down.”
For one thing, many younger people are less financially stable than their older counterparts, which can cause them to go into debt seeking treatment.
On the other hand, many of the patients he sees have to give up plans they have wanted all their lives, such as having a family or a career.
These factors simply add to the brutal symptoms of gastrointestinal cancer and its treatment, where patients often have difficulty eating, going to the bathroom, and having energy.
It is difficult to see patients go through this, especially those who had their lives ahead of them, Dr Al-Rajabi told DailyMail.com.
Younger patients often go a long time without knowing they have the disease.
They tend to delay visiting the doctor for gastrointestinal symptoms because they assume their condition will resolve on its own, are less financially stable or lack insurance, Dr. Al-Rajabi said.
Even when they seek medical attention, doctors themselves often do not suspect colon cancer. Instead, most think their patients’ symptoms are caused by “normal things” like diet, hemorrhoids or irritable bowel, he added.
“Doctors just don’t think colon cancer is a possibility in that young age group,” the doctor told DailyMail.com.
This means that the average young patient with colorectal cancer sees at least two doctors before being diagnosed.
In the weeks or months it usually takes to deal with these logistics, the cancer has had more time to spread.
Scientists have not reached a consensus on why this trend is increasing.
Some theorize it is due to food, blaming a modern diet high in sugar and low in fiber.
Others theorize that environmental factors, such as the use of pesticides or microplastics, are contributing.
Marisa Maddox (pictured; not a patient of Dr. Al-Rajabi) was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 29. This made her infertile and took away the opportunity to have the large family she always wanted.
Joe Faratzis, 34, of Los Angeles, is pictured above in his mid-twenties before his stage four colon cancer was detected (left) and during treatment he began in 2020 (right). He was not a patient of Dr. Al-Rajabi.
Dr. Al-Rajabi personally believes that some social or environmental factor could be playing a role, as the sharp increase in younger patients is similar to past cancer trends caused by factors such as tobacco use.
However, he cautioned, research has yet to prove it.
Whatever the cause of this increase, the key to fighting it, Dr. Al-Rajabi said, is to become your own advocate.
This means taking the time to learn your family history of digestive cancers and paying close attention to your own colorectal symptoms.
If someone in your family had colorectal cancer, your chances of developing the disease are much higher. About 33 percent of people with colon cancer also have a family member who had the disease.
Although official U.S. recommendations say colon cancer screening should begin at age 45, Dr. Al-Rajabi said that changes if you have a family history of the disease.
You should get tested about 10 years before your family member’s age when they were diagnosed with cancer.
In these routine checkups, doctors look for small abnormalities in the intestine, called polyps. If you have polyps removed and monitored, your risk of developing cancer is reduced by 80 percent. according to the Cleveland Clinic.
That’s why checkups and family history are crucial, Dr. Al-Rajabi said.
If you notice a change in the way your gut behaves, find a doctor and make sure they understand your family history of the disease.
It is essential, even if you feel upset, to be firm in describing your situation to your doctor if you are concerned.
Dr. Al-Rajabi said: “If something doesn’t feel right and you have persistent symptoms like abdominal pain (or) blood in your stool, don’t think it’s something benign, always be your own advocate, go back to your doctor.” . and discuss it again.’