I am a stage 4 young onset colon cancer survivor. I was diagnosed a couple of months after turning 40 when my daughter was 2 and my son was 8.

I was first misdiagnosed with gallbladder stones and after an ER visit it was determined that I have stage 4 colon cancer. My family’s lives have changed forever!!! The tumors on my liver were too big to undergo a liver and colon resection at the time. I went through 6 rounds of chemo with a Avastin that shrank my tumors and I could be operated on.

I had colon and liver resection and after recovery continued with another 6 rounds of chemo. I was then determined to be NED. A year later I had a reoccurrence with couple of tumors on the other side of my liver.

I had a reoccurrence a year after my first colon and liver resection. My oncologist did not want to do chemo and stated that the first one did not work and did not kill the cancer so he sent me directly to my liver surgeon for a resection. The surgery was a success with a few complications afterwards but I have been NED since then. I was also diagnosed with stage 2 Melanoma when I was 32 right after my son’s birth. Thankfully everything was removed and no reoccurrence there. I have no gene mutations or family history of cancer.

When I went through the diagnosis, treatments and surgeries, I thought, I was the only young person diagnosed with the disease. I did not know anyone and felt very alone. It was not until a couple of years ago that I found Fight CRC and I felt so welcomed and felt like I finally belong. I want to spread the love and make people feel that they are not alone. I want to give other survivors, caregivers and loved ones courage and lots of hope for the future. I want to help move the needle to put colorectal cancer on the priority list for lawmakers and medical researchers. I would also want to help to bring awareness to medical professionals to take us women seriously and listen to our complaints as issues to be addressed and not just as complaints because we are perceived to be whiners.