Three weeks after turning 45, I made the decision to take my health seriously. What I had brushed off as the reality of being a busy working mom—and simply getting older—turned out to be stage 3 rectal cancer.

The symptoms had been creeping in for months: needing to use the bathroom more often, noticing my stools becoming thinner, and then, one day, seeing blood. I convinced myself it was nothing more than breakthrough bleeding from my IUD or maybe hemorrhoids. My doctor initially agreed it was likely one of those causes, but she still ordered bloodwork and strongly recommended a colonoscopy.

A week later, I woke up from that colonoscopy to the life-changing words: I had a tumor high in my rectum, and it was cancer. Within a month, I began treatment and honestly feel better than ever!