Colorectal cancer rates among younger people are surging across the globe, a troubling trend that health professionals attribute to evolving eating habits and sedentary modern lifestyles.
The disease, once predominantly associated with older generations, is now striking adults in their twenties, thirties and forties with alarming frequency.
Dietary choices and rising obesity levels are considered significant contributing factors to this shift. But inherited genetic predispositions also play a considerable role in determining who develops the condition.
Medical experts are now urging immediate intervention to halt and reverse this worrying pattern as more and more people share their experiences publicly.
Danielle suffered excruciating pain in his abdomen
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TIKTOK / RAM DANIELLE
Ram Danielle, one of many affected by the epidemic, says his ordeal began in his 30s after excruciating abdominal discomfort struck without warning. His symptoms, however, were initially put down to IBS.
“One day, I had a terrible stomach ache, and I was constipated all day,” he recounted to his audience. “This happened on a Wednesday; it had been nearly four days since I went to the bathroom.”
As someone used to regular bowel movements, the blockage prompted Danielle to seek medical attention.
“I was screaming in pain, they ran some blood work, did some x-rays and sent me home with three different laxatives,” he explained.
Then half a day passed without improvement, so he contacted a nurse helpline for alternative remedies, both of which proved ineffective.
The following day brought intensified suffering, with the discomfort becoming substantially worse than during his initial emergency visit.
“I went back to the emergency room, and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, so they did extra testing,” Danielle recalled. “I had to drink some type of dye and got admitted to the hospital.”
New medical staff on the case recommended a colonoscopy to investigate further. His condition continued to deteriorate rapidly, with nausea causing him to vomit every half hour.
“On Saturday morning, I woke up with even more pain,” he said, noting the discomfort had migrated from his lower abdomen to his chest area.
Doctors proposed a colostomy procedure as an urgent measure to address the pain while awaiting colonoscopy results. The operation creates a new way for food waste to leave the body when it can’t go through the usual route.
“I went through the surgery and woke up, and my family said they found a tumour, 5cm, which is when they realised this is cancer,” Danielle revealed.
Colon cancer is striking more and more adults in their twenties
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GETTY
Although the malignancy had confirmed, Danielle still faced an anxious wait for pathology findings to establish the severity of his condition, which eventually confirmed stage three colon cancer.
“So I was in the hospital for 13 days recovering,” he said, marking the beginning of what would become a lengthy battle against the disease.