Young bowel cancer survivors? 35 years old

The colon club
I also am not as young as you, diagnosed at 43, but The Colon Club is designed by and for young colon cancer survivors; their 2009 colondar has a model diagnosed at 17! IKES! I am sure you will get more comments from young ones here as well, unfortunately there are a few!
mary

I'm in
I was diagnosed the day after I turned 27. I am happy to say that I just passed my 4 year anniversary, and my 31st birthday. Life can go on... if you let it!

lizbiz said:

One more...
I was diagnosed stage III in May of this year. I'm 32 years old. Today is the eve of my 7th FOLFOX treatment. I'm hoping to make all 12 of them, but it's getting harder with each treatment.

I know how you feel...I always thought this was an "old man" disease. Guess I was wrong! I don't know about you but I feel like I have more in common with the older people I see at chemo treatments than I do with people my own age who've never had to deal with anything like this. It sucks, but I have to look forward to moving on with my life after chemo and reconnection surgery. Hopefully cc won't return.

Congratulations on finishing your treatments!

Elizabeth

identifying with other chemo patients
I think we ALL relate more to our fellow chemo buddies at times than we do to our peers (or have the chemo buddies BECOME our peers?). It's just the shared crappiness of the fight that brings us together. Probably the hardest at your age is that all of your peers are still out running the race, enjoying life and believing themselves to be immortal. You just have the misfortune of getting an early glimpse into the fact that we are all mortal. Kind of puts a pall on the whole life as a party view! It's always a bummer when the innocence disappears; it's a bummer when your children realize Santa and you are one in the same; it's a bummer when your children realize you are human and really can't make everything go away with a kiss. However, with each new discovery into the way things are, we move into new relationships and that isn't always bad! When we discover the truth of our immortality, it gives us the opportunity to live each day to its fullest, to focus on what's truly important rather than what society believes to be important. In a way we are far freer than our counterparts who haven't been touched by cancer. Yes, cancer sucks, but there is always good to be found among the filth! I am praying for manageable treatments and to hear your joy when your tests show the fight was worth it.
Mary

hi
hi, I know exactly what you're saying and how you're feeling. I was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer when I was 24. I just turned 27 and am approaching the two year anniversary of my first surgery when all the cancer was removed. I have been NED ever since and back to work and a really normal life ( with a lot better perspective!). I still feel the isolation and frustration at times in not having my peers be able to grasp what I've been through. I've met amazing people on here, young and old and hope you find it to be an amazing source of help and understanding too!

I was Diagnosed at 33. I'm
I was Diagnosed at 33. I'm 37 in November. Still kickin" and in the groove and NED. Whenever I go to the Onc for a visit I scan the massive waiting room for anyone my age and it's scarce. I usually go right up to them because I know I felt out of place and ackward as hell. I would say your not alone at all.

What chemo did you take? How you feeling?

-Reuben

Been there done that got the tshirt and more
Hi,
I found out that I had stage III colon/rectum cancer 9 days before my 37th birthday. I had 6 weeks of radiation/chemo at the same time. Waited 6 weeks, and had my colon and rectum removed. Now, I live with an ileostomy (bag on the outside) permanently. Then went through another 8 months of chemo. Found out that my 14 yo daughter had over 150 cancerous polyps in her colon, and we had to have it removed before the cancer progressed.

Keep up the fight!!!

Brian

Young with cancer
Hi, i was 35 when i became symptomatic with rectal cancer, and my doc thinks i had it much longer than that. I'm 39 now, diagnosed last year. No one considered my family history when they were told i had two great uncles with the disease, and yet another with polyps and diverticulosis. They kept saying the bleeding was from internal hemhoroids. For two years they said that until my symptoms were so severe i needed a blood transfusion, and was puking from being so blocked up. The health care field is not catching on fast enough that people under 50 are getting this disease. It's simply incomprehensible to them (i show every nurse and doc i meet the hideous picture of my bloody, cancer infested, tumor now). Anyway, no matter what age people are, it's just too hard for them to understand what it's like unless they've been through it. That's the bottom line.

Many hugs,
Krista