How Ali Faced Stage 2 Colorectal Cancer While Pregnant and Became Her Own Best Advocate

Ali’s story of living through stage 2 colorectal cancer is both inspiring as she speaks from the heart. She first noticed that something was wrong after a summer trip to Italy in 2023, when she started suffering unrelenting bloating even after just a sip of water. At first, she blamed the food she and her husband ate there, then started suspecting hemorrhoids when she began noticing occasional bleeding during bowel movements. But as months went by and the bleeding became more frequent, especially during her pregnancy, she trusted her instincts and pushed for a GI consult. That self-advocacy led to a flexible sigmoidoscopy while she was 25 weeks pregnant, which revealed a rectal mass.

Interviewed by: Nikki Murphy
Edited by: Chris Sanchez

Ali’s life shifted dramatically. She navigated high-risk pregnancy care, sought a second opinion, and coordinated closely with her OB-GYN. Her doctors recommended waiting until 35 weeks to deliver her daughter before starting chemotherapy for her colorectal cancer, balancing her health with her baby’s safety. Postpartum and in the middle of chemo, Ali embraced small joys such as walks by the beach, music classes with her baby, and time with family to keep her life grounded and meaningful.

Chemotherapy brought its share of challenges. Ali endured fatigue, nausea, neuropathy, cold sensitivity, and even anaphylactic reactions that turned infusion days into 12-hour marathons. In the face of these side effects, she leaned on her support system and remained vigilant about her care. Her active role in decision-making, from seeking second opinions to adjusting her lifestyle, was key to her empowerment.

Over time, her efforts and her team’s careful planning paid off. By the end of 2024, follow-up scopes showed the tumor had shrunk significantly, and by early 2025, she celebrated being in remission. Now, Ali continues close monitoring with regular MRIs and scopes, all while embracing a cleaner, healthier lifestyle and a new appreciation for family time and self-care.

Ali’s story is a reminder that noticing symptoms early, advocating for yourself, and holding on to hope can make all the difference. Watch her video and read through her interview transcript for more details about: 

• How bloating after a holiday led to a life-altering diagnosis
• The pivotal moment Ali didn’t cancel her scope appointment
• Navigating postpartum life while undergoing chemotherapy to treat stage 2 colorectal cancer
• The lifestyle changes Ali swears by after remission
• Why self-advocacy can be life-saving for young moms

• Name: Ali R.
• Diagnosis:
  • Colorectal Cancer
• Staging:
  • Stage 2
• Symptoms:
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Thin stools
  • Bloating
• Treatment:
  • Chemotherapy

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider to make informed treatment decisions.

The views and opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect those of The Patient Story.

I am Ali

I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, stage 2, in May of 2024.

When I first felt something was wrong

In the summer of 2023, my husband and I went to Italy, and I came back, and I just felt abnormally bloated. And then it didn’t go away. At first, I thought, “Oh, it was just all the cured meats and pasta that we were eating in Italy.” And it didn’t go away all summer. It got to the point where I would take a sip of water, and I would have to unbutton my jeans, like that’s how much I was bloating. 

That went on for a few months. And then, in the fall of that same year, I started bleeding with my bowel movements. And it wasn’t constant. It wasn’t every single time. But it was enough for me to be like, “That’s weird.” I have had hemorrhoids before, so at the time, I was not concerned at all. I was like, “Oh, okay. It’s got to be the hemorrhoids.” 

Then we were trying to get pregnant. I did get pregnant and found out in December. My symptoms actually kind of went away for like a few weeks. I wasn’t bleeding anymore. And then my symptoms came back pretty strong at the end of January, February. I was bleeding almost every single time I had a bowel movement. 

It was red blood. A lot. I was seeing a group of midwives at the time, and I brought it up to them. And one told me that she wanted me to go see a GI specialist. She’s like, “At least establish that care relationship. It sounds like way more blood than you should normally have with just hemorrhoids.” So I did that. I went to a GI and without any hesitation, she was like, “I’m scheduling you for a flexible sigmoidoscopy.” It hit me at that moment that this could be something serious and that it might not be just hemorrhoids. Although in my head I still was like, “This is probably hemorrhoids.” So then I scheduled it. 

How I felt before my scope

I had my scope coming up in a couple of days. I was feeling great. I honestly had a wonderful pregnancy. Like a dream. I loved being pregnant. 

It was a beautiful day in April, and we went to hang out on the beach. And I knew I had a scope in a couple of days because I was bleeding rectally. And to be honest, I didn’t think anything bad was going to come of it. So that day, I told my husband and my mom that I wanted to cancel it, and I was way more afraid of the actual procedure of the flex. I was getting a flex sigmoidoscopy, which, even as a nurse, I didn’t even know that you could do that while pregnant. 

So I was way more afraid of the procedure. I was afraid of something happening to my baby. I was afraid it was going to hurt because I knew I was going to be awake. So that was the only thing on my mind that day, and I was planning on canceling it. And for some reason, I just stuck with my gut, and I didn’t end up canceling it, thank God. 

I was scheduled for a flexible sigmoidoscopy

I went to the hospital to get the procedure done. It was May 2nd. Again, I wasn’t really thinking about the results; I was just thinking about the actual procedure itself. 

My husband came with me. I was in the pre-op room, getting an IV and getting checked. They had to do fetal monitoring the entire time just to make sure that the baby was okay. And they had a an L&D nurse come down to monitor. And then they took me in for the procedure. They can’t monitor the baby during the procedure, but they monitored her pre-op and post-op. 

So then I went in for the procedure. It was very quick. It was probably 15 minutes, tops. And at the very end, the doctor told me, while I was still lying on the table, that he had found the source of the bleeding. I could tell by the tone of his voice that it wasn’t hemorrhoids. It was something bad. 

So he told me he found a mass in my rectum, and I feel like I just blacked out, honestly. The nurse who was taking care of me was holding my hand, and I actually used to work with her in the ICU, where I started as a nurse, so that was very comforting in that moment, since they don’t let your significant other in the room with you.

So they wheeled me back, I started crying, and then my husband was there. They brought me to the recovery room and started talking about it. They didn’t say that it was definitely cancer, obviously, because they had to biopsy it. 

So the doctor did biopsy it. He did tell me brutally and honestly that he thinks it is cancer. And I could just tell by his tone that he knew it was. So he right away established care for me through a surgeon and oncologist, and everyone that he recommended within the system that I was currently at. They also brought down my midwife because they were in the hospital surroundings. And then she brought down a high-risk doctor that she recommended because I couldn’t see the midwives anymore. After all, mine was now considered a high-risk pregnancy. So I met my new high-risk OBGYN. She was incredible.

I was 25 weeks pregnant.

There was a lot of crying and hugging. And then as we were leaving, I called my parents and they drove up right away. And again, even though it wasn’t confirmed as cancer at that time, I knew it was so.

The moment everything changed

The next day, I was checking out MyChart on my phone. And I was just refreshing it for the next 24 hours, like I feel anyone would do in my situation. 

I saw that the results were up. My husband and I were sitting on the couch just waiting, and I couldn’t open it. I just couldn’t do it. He was like, “Why don’t you just wait for the doctor to call? As soon as they get the results, they’re going to call anyway. You don’t want to read it and freak out and not talk to him and whatever.” 

Of course, I couldn’t wait, so I opened the results. I saw that it was positive for adenocarcinoma. 

And then my doctor called, probably two minutes after I opened it, and he just talked me through it. He was amazing. 

So this was also like the week of Mother’s Day, and my husband had gotten me a blanket as a gift for my first Mother’s Day. I’m looking at it right now. It has my ultrasound of my daughter on it, and it says something like, “I can’t wait to meet you. I’m so excited for our adventures together.” And all this beautiful writing on it. 

I feel like my life was flashing before my eyes at that time because I was just, like, how did the word “cancer” come up? I haven’t even met my daughter yet. Am I even going to be able to have these adventures with her?

I was just panicking that I wasn’t going to be able to actually be her mother. 

Why I decided to look for a second opinion 

I looked outside where they recommended with the system that I was in, because I wanted to get the best care that I could get. I was 32 and pregnant, and I wanted to tackle this in the best way. 

So went to New York City. I went to Memorial Sloan-Kettering, which is amazing. 

I was very confused at the time because I knew Memorial Sloan-Kettering doesn’t have an OB-GYN, and I wasn’t sure how they wanted to tackle this. On that end. And I was pregnant as well. So what ended up happening was I saw the doctors that they recommended. But I decided not to go that route. One wanted to do surgery on me while I was pregnant, and that just didn’t sit well with me. So that’s why I got a second opinion at MSK. 

Once at MSK, I absolutely loved them. My doctor made me feel so comfortable. She told me that we can absolutely keep the OB-GYN that I’m using. That I did not have to seek anyone else because they’re going to coordinate with each other and figure out the best route to go. This was to wait to treat my cancer, and also deliver my baby early. But not too early where it’s not beneficial to her. 

So they had agreed that waiting till I was 35 weeks pregnant was going to be ideal. She said it wasn’t a fast-growing cancer. And that ten weeks wouldn’t make a huge difference. So we waited ten weeks, and then we scheduled a C-section for 35 weeks.

About the ten-week frame. I was panicking. I didn’t like the idea of knowing that I had cancer in my body and waiting ten weeks. I felt like I was stuck. Okay, I want to do what’s best for my daughter. We cannot deliver her right now. Also, I know that they can give chemo while pregnant. But my doctor felt like I was far enough along where we didn’t need to do that. And then also, obviously, that worried me about her being in my belly and giving me chemo. So I wasn’t nuts about waiting ten weeks, but I do feel like it was the best option. So I just kept reassuring myself that that was what the doctors recommended and that we’d get to it as soon as she was out.

The day my daughter was born

It was July 8th, 2024. I went in for my C-section, which I wasn’t happy about either. 

Obviously, I wanted to have the birth that I wanted to have. I wanted to at least try to have, you know, a vaginal delivery. So I did feel kind of stripped of that opportunity. And the whole reason that they wanted to do a C-section was that they were afraid that if I tore where my rectal tumor was, it was too close and that it would mess with it. So the surgical oncologist that I saw highly recommended a C-section.

My doctors were amazing. I had two doctors whom I was primarily dealing with at the OB office. One was the one who met me the day that I found out at the scope. Actually, I was scheduled with the other doctor, but then she came in on the day of my delivery, on her day off, just to be there, and it was so comforting. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. 

And she came out and delivered her. I’m a NICU nurse, so I know that at 35 weeks, the babies tend to do pretty well if they’re born at that time. Unfortunately, my daughter had to be intubated, which I was not expecting at all. But I guess because it wasn’t spontaneous labor, and they were taking her out of my belly at 35 weeks. She wasn’t ready to come out. So they did have to intubate her and admit her to the NICU. She did great. 

But I was on the table during the C-section and knew that that was happening. And I started spiraling. I started panicking, so yeah, they had to give me a little something to calm me down. 

And then I was obviously so eager to go see her in the NICU. So, you know, there’s a certain amount of time you have to wait after a C-section to be able to get up into the wheelchair to go see your baby. But I made it happen in a few hours, and they were all very supportive. They all helped me. So it was an amazing day. Minus the struggles.

I’ve always wanted a big family

I just knew I wanted multiple kids. So I had actually seen a fertility doctor while I was still pregnant. I’m a planner. So normally, if someone were to get diagnosed with cancer and they were pregnant, they would probably go and preserve some eggs. However, since I was pregnant, I couldn’t do that, obviously. So I went and spoke with him. I think he was just doing it to make me feel better. And he was like, “I can take a look. It’s all about whether I can reach your ovaries. I’m telling you, I’m most likely can’t. And your hormones are not going to be where they’re at while you’re pregnant.” But to make me feel better, he made the appointment for me to go in to see if he could reach my ovaries. I think he was just doing it to appease me. Which I appreciated, but obviously that didn’t happen.

Basically, my oncologist told me they’re not 100% sure how it affects fertility. They have had many, many women get pregnant after the chemo that I was on. It’s happened naturally. Some have had to do IVF. They don’t know if it’s because of the chemo or not. So it’s still a concern of mine. I tried to take my focus off that for a while, since there wasn’t anything I could actively do about it. And even after I had delivered my baby, I asked how long it would take before I could preserve some eggs. And the fertility doctor told me it would take at least two months for my uterus to shrink back down and for the hormones to be where they’re at before we could retrieve eggs. I wasn’t going to wait another two months on top of that, and my oncologist was highly against that as well. So we went ahead with treatment and just crossing our fingers for the next future child in our lives.

The factors that weighed on my treatment decision making

One of my factors was infertility, and another was having an ostomy bag. So the doctor said that normally, even with those concerns, she treats patients right away with chemo. So I was on chemotherapy. It’s a combination of three different chemo drugs. It’s actually mainly used for late-stage cancers and pancreatic cancer as well. Even though I was stage two, she wanted to attack it with the most aggressive chemo, so that we wouldn’t have to look down the route of radiation or surgery. I was petrified because I heard the side effects are life-altering, and obviously, that really affects infertility. And it puts you into menopause. 

They say surgery isn’t always the first choice with rectal cancer because of where the tumor is. So it’s there’s a difference between rectal and colon cancer. So obviously, if it’s up in your colon, they can go in and resect that. And it’s easier to do in your rectum. You’re getting down to like the anal sphincter. And it gets very, very complicated. And a lot of the time, you can end up with a permanent colostomy bag. So they always try to avoid that.

First, they see if they can just knock it out with chemo.

My treatment plan

I did eight treatments of chemo. It was supposed to be every other week for four months. It ended up being a long five and a half months. 

At first, it started as a six-hour day. In my first couple of sessions, I was like, “This is a piece of cake. I could do this.” I didn’t feel horrible. That was the first two sessions. I was just getting a headache. I was very fatigued. Obviously, no hair loss yet or anything like that. I had AD nausea. A lot. And then the third session came. And the fourth. And it just it got harder and harder. My body was fighting it. 

They had to delay the third or fourth treatment, which is why it ended up going from four months to five and a half months. There were a couple of sessions that I couldn’t do because they always check your blood count beforehand, and I was found to be severely neutropenic, so they had to hold off until they could get my levels back up. And that’s when they started giving me an injection to help with the neutropenia. 

There are also side effects. You get a ton of bone pain, which is like the weirdest feeling in the world. And then by the fourth or fifth treatment, I started having some severe allergic reactions. It was a full anaphylactic reaction from the one chemo drug, and they basically told me it was too early for me to have those. Usually it’s not until the last treatment that it happens to people. 

So I think it was the fifth treatment. And once that happens, they have to do what’s called a desensitization and basically run the chemo over a very, very long period of time. So I was in that chair for at least 12 hours every treatment since then. It was an anaphylactic reaction, where it started as a tickle in my throat, coughing, and bronchospasm. And then I couldn’t breathe. So, in addition to it taking 12 hours, they also had to start basically drowning me in Benadryl and steroids and fluids. So another huge side effect I actually got was weight gain. And the steroids they give you will result in what they call moonface. So I didn’t feel like myself. 

I lost 90% of my hair. I couldn’t make the move and shave it. People are so brave. I just kept what was there and just threw it on top of my head and put headbands on. Now my hair is growing in quickly. 

The other side effect that I had was pretty significant neuropathy. Thankfully, it’s almost 100% better now. I had it in my hands during treatment. It went away when I stopped, but it stayed in my feet. So the worst of it is when I wake up in the morning, it hurts to walk. I would limp, I would get more numbness and weakness with the neuropathy, and less of the burning. Some people get that burning sensation. I didn’t really get that. And then the other side effect that I got was the cold sensitivity with the one chemo. So it would last about an hour until a couple of days before my next treatment. I wouldn’t be able to drink or eat anything cold. If I were to touch and pull something out of the freezer without gloves on, it would feel like pins and needles to the ninth degree. It was awful. 

Obviously, there’s also joint pain. I actually still have aches. And then I would get really bad stomach pains as well when I would have to use the bathroom. And another GI symptom I got was diarrhea. And then I was also throwing up only at the last treatment. 

There are probably some side effects I’m forgetting. But those were the worst ones, the ones that stick with me. 

Being a new mom while navigating cancer

It was my first time being a mother, so I really leaned on my support system. This was my whole family, my husband’s family, and my friends I was in contact with. 

The thing that I did the most to create some sense of normalcy was just going on walks. We live right by the beach. It’s beautiful here. I just felt like when I would go out for a walk, get some fresh air, everything just felt better. That’s like my happy place.  

I didn’t 100% limit myself to everything. I still went to social events. I did everything that I still could do that a new mom would do. I would take her to music classes. This would all be obviously when I was feeling okay, it would usually be during the week I was off chemo. And then the week that I was on chemo, I would give myself time to rest and just sit at home with her and have my mom or sister over. 

So I think it was very important for me to still live basically a normal life.

The cancer is gone

My last chemo day was in December, right before Christmas. I was so happy.

That was a rough day in itself. But my friend works where I was getting treatment, and she set up the whole room, decorated the whole room for me. She and my mom did it. It was so cute. So it was a great day. And then in October, a couple of months before that, I had a follow-up scope just to kind of see what the tumor looked like. And at that time, it had shrunk down to almost nothing. So I felt very, very positive about these last remaining treatments. I was nervous too, though. 

In December, I finished chemo, and then on January 2nd, I had my follow-up scope to see if the tumor was still there. I went up to New York. My husband stayed home with my daughter, and I brought my parents to New York. We went to go see the tree. It was a nice little day. And then we found out that my tumor was gone. And it was the most relieving feeling in the entire world. 

Again, they couldn’t 100% confirm it at the time because they still had to biopsy what was there. But the doctor basically told me, “This is scar tissue. I’m almost sure of it. I just have to biopsy it.” And then I got the results the next day, and I was in remission. And it was like the best feeling ever. I felt over the moon.

So for monitoring, I go every 3 to 4 months for flex sigmoidoscopies and for MRIs. I had a follow-up in April for both. I had an MRI and a scope. Everything was good. And then every year I have to get a full colonoscopy. So I did just get that in June, at the end of June, and everything looked great. So my next MRI is in a week from today. And then I get a scope following that as well. So it’s every 3 to 4 months. 

They just watch me very very closely. They call it “wait and watch.” And so far so good. Obviously, I get so much anxiety with those. But I feel like staying positive has helped me so much this whole journey. 

My lifestyle has completely changed

I was a night shift nurse. I always knew it was bad for you working nights. Now, I won’t ever risk doing that again. My doctor agrees. That’s why when I go back to work, I’m going to the day shift. The doctor said that the night shift is detrimental to your health, to your hormones, everything. So I feel like I’ve had to shift my whole mindset. 

I don’t know what caused this, you know? So I have changed a lot of aspects of my life. I’ve made so many changes in my home of things that I put on my body daily. I do toxin free. I use those apps and I scan everything to make sure there’s nothing harmful in the products. The cookware that we use. We changed all that out. I changed all my cleaning supplies. I changed my body wash, everything. And now I’m also super vigilant about what I give my daughter as well. We use glass bottles for her milk. 

Before cancer, I was the type of person who went, “Who cares? What is that really going to do to me?” I would burn these terrible candles all the time. And someone said to me, I think it was my sister. “Those are really bad for you.” And I was like, “I can’t not have a candle, I don’t care.” Well, my mentality has completely changed about all of that now. 

I try not to go overboard with it, though. I try to find a fine line between that and not caring at all. We can’t detox from every single thing in this world. So I just try to find the most important things. 

I also used to drink alcohol a lot. In my 20s, I would go out a ton. Obviously, since being a mom, I don’t really do much anymore. But that has changed drastically as well. I really don’t drink alcohol anymore. 

I will say that I think it’s important to still live your life and do things that make you happy. So if I’m out to dinner and I want a glass of wine, I’m going to have a glass of wine. I don’t really enjoy things the way that I used to, but I’m also fine with it because it’s giving me peace of mind.

What I want others to know

Stay positive. It’s so much easier said than done. But I swear, the fact that I stayed so positive is what got me through it. 

I also know that it’s my daughter who got me through it, because I truly believe if I were diagnosed and I didn’t have her, if I hadn’t been pregnant, I would not have handled it as well as I did. So for anyone who is going through this who’s a new mom, I can especially relate to you. Just know that you can do it for your kids. Your kids are everything. And my daughters and my husband are what got me through it. If you don’t have kids, then whoever that most important person is in your life, do it for them and for yourself.

Listen to your body, try to do things that make you feel as normal as you can. Again, that’s what got me through it. 

I have a friend who was diagnosed at the same time. I met her over social media, and she had the same cancer I did, but it was stage 4. Everyone hears “stage 4,” and they freak out. It’s not a death sentence anymore. You know, our medicine and research are so far along now that there’s so much hope for everyone with these diagnoses. So there’s always hope.

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