A dad-of-three has revealed how he mistook his bowel cancer for a sign his new diet was working.
Pedro Guerrero of Houston, Texas, lost 40 pounds in two months after recently starting a low-carb ketogenic diet.
He was so pleased with how effective his new diet seemed to be that he ignored other signs like stomach cramps, tiredness, and constant diarrhea.
He reveals in a TikTok: “The pain eventually became so intense that I ran to the emergency room. A quick CT scan detects a huge mass in my colon.’
Mr. Guerrero was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, meaning it had spread from the intestine to other parts of his body, at the age of 32.
Colon cancer used to be a disease of older people. But Guerrero is one of the increasingly numerous victims of the growing colon cancer among young people under 50 years of age.
Dr Suneel Kamath, a gastrointestinal cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told DailyMail.com that weight loss is a “characteristic symptom of almost all cancers, including colorectal cancer.”
He added: “I don’t think we fully understand why this happens, but we know that cancer induces a wasting state called cachexia.
Pedro Guerrero of Houston, Texas, lost 40 pounds in a span of two months and was initially pleased with his lean physique. Left, before losing weight and right, while fighting cancer.
“Basically, it releases signals into the blood that cause our normal cells to not receive or be able to use our nutrition normally, so the body loses weight and the cancer cells absorb more of that nutrition.”
Dr Kamath says the best way to detect unusual weight loss is to weigh yourself once each morning after urinating, as this will give the most consistent reading from day to day.
The doctor points out: ‘And if someone is trying to lose weight, they should be honest with themselves about how much they have actually intentionally lost.
“Many people are losing weight very quickly (like 10 pounds in two weeks) and think their diet and exercise are doing great, but in retrospect they realize that it wasn’t, it was actually cancer.”
Fortunately, while Mr. Guerrero’s tumor had spread to nearby lymph nodes, it had not spread to other parts of his body.
After his diagnosis in May 2022, he was rushed in for surgery the next day and underwent a procedure to remove the right side of his colon to prevent the cancer from spreading further.
After a two-month recovery period, Guerrero began eight weeks of chemotherapy.
He says this was one of the most difficult parts of his illness.
On a GoFundMe fundraising page he launched to help pay his mounting medical bills, Guerrero wrote, “In my opinion, chemotherapy has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure.”
‘The symptoms and complications have marked me and I would never wish anything that I am going through, not even on my worst enemy.
After his diagnosis in May 2022, he was rushed in for surgery the next day and underwent a procedure to remove the right side of his colon.
After a two-month recovery period, Guerrero began eight weeks of chemotherapy. He says this was one of the most difficult parts of his illness.
“I keep thinking about being there for my wife, my kids, my parents and my in-laws in the future and that’s what kept me going.”
After his shocking diagnosis, Guerrero began posting videos on TikTok in a bid to help others detect colon cancer in its early stages.
In one clip, he describes the intense abdominal pain that ultimately led him to seek help, telling viewers, “I mean, this abdominal pain was horrible.”
“I was literally in the fetal position, clutching my stomach from the pain.”
Before his symptoms worsened, Guerrero also suffered from hemorrhoids around age 30.
While this is not a sign of colon cancer, symptoms overlap with rectal bleeding, rectal itching, and lumps in the anus among the shared complaints.
This meant that when he developed colon cancer and experienced rectal bleeding, Mr. Guerrero attributed it to his hemorrhoids returning.
You now realize that in the case of colon cancer, the bleeding is usually more persistent and the blood may be darker in color.
Thanks to his rapid treatment, Mr. Guerrero has been cancer-free since January 2023.
Since his battle with cancer, Guerrero has made several lifestyle changes and now tries to avoid eating processed meats and rarely drinks alcohol.
He says that in the past his diet was pretty bad.
In one clip, he reveals: “To be completely honest, the diet before this was not good at all.
Mr. Guerrero was diagnosed with stage IIIB colon cancer at the age of 32. Fortunately, his tumor had not spread to other parts of his body.
In addition to helping people recognize the symptoms of colon cancer, Guerrero says she hopes her TikToks offer people hope for remission.
‘We grew up quite poor, so we had to eat what we could at the time…cheap meats and lots of frozen things.
‘I drank a lot (alcohol) from the age of 20 (and) I mean, Coca Cola was my addiction.
‘I never really I thought about it, you know? and I think that’s how most Americans really are.
In addition to helping people recognize the symptoms of colon cancer, Guerrero says she hopes her TikToks offer people hope for remission.
He writes in the caption of one clip: “Colon cancer was never something I thought I would have at 32 years old.
‘I’m sharing this to raise awareness in the hope of helping someone who might be having the same symptoms and is thinking about going to see a doctor.
‘This disease is very curable as long as it is detected in time. Please listen to your body when it gives you signals.’