“It’s pushed a lot of the societies to change their guidelines to reduce the age for colorectal cancer screening from 50, which it had been forever, to 45,” said Ayanna Lewis, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Merrick, New York, and a member of the Healthy Women Women’s Health Advisory Council. In 2020, about 12% of colorectal cancer cases in the U.S. But cases are rising among younger people, regardless of ethnic background. That truly is when my treatment and road to battling cancer started.”įor decades, colorectal cancer was seen as an older person’s disease. “My surgeon … and my oncologist … and an almost all-female driven team took me in as a person, not a number. “I finally sat my family down and told them about my illness and decided I would go to Memorial Sloan Kettering,” Jones said. She said she still took the job because she needed to see a doctor and had to support her family.Īfter her diagnosis, Jones said she wasn’t happy with the level of care she was getting from her doctor, who happened to be a white male, and decided to seek a new provider. In between jobs and without health insurance, Jones took a position at a company that delayed her hiring by a month and gave her a lower salary than promised. Jones faced inequities herself during her cancer journey. These differences in diagnosis and survival rates have been linked to racial and socioeconomic health inequities, such as a lack of access to quality medical care as a result of finances or geography and a lack of trust in healthcare providers. African Americans, who are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die of the disease than other groups, develop the cancer at younger ages and are diagnosed at a later stage, which lowers survival rates. A family history of colorectal cancer also can increase the risk of developing the disease.īut research suggests that most colorectal cancer cases are not genetic or hereditary. A genetic mutation found mostly in people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, APC I1307K, is believed to contribute to higher rates of colorectal cancer in that population. Some racial and ethnic groups face a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. It’s the third most common cancer in the U.S., and up to 1 in 26 women will receive a colorectal cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes. “At the time, both my children were in college, and I started thinking I’d never see their lives fully flourish.”Ĭolon cancer, or colorectal cancer, is cancer of the large intestine or the rectum. She kept her diagnosis from her friends and family for a few weeks. “I was embarrassed and ashamed when I found out I had stage 3 colorectal cancer,” Jones said. Jones was stunned - she had no family history of colorectal cancer and no other known risk factors for the disease.
She hadĬolorectal cancer, and her doctor said she had about five years left to live.
She wasn’t worried about cancer at all when she went to the doctor for her firstĬolonoscopy, which, at the time, was recommended for people ages 50 and over.Īfter undergoing the procedure, she was stunned when the results came back. She also thought it might be a food allergy and decided to remove gluten from her diet. Jones told herself “these things happen” at her age.
She said she felt great when the big day arrived, but grew concerned when she began experiencing bloating, trapped gas and abdominal discomfort a few months later. On the eve of her 50th birthday, she was an avid runner and dancer, and had been a vegetarian for more than 25 years. First Black woman to become a member of the Radio City Rockettes, had always been the healthy one in her family.
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