Stage 3C Colon Cancer at 24: Meagan’s Story of Listening to One Symptom

At 24, Meagan was a busy graduate student and substitute teacher whose life revolved around lesson plans, a long-term relationship, and building her future. However, she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer after months of noticing small amounts of blood in her stool. She had no abdominal pain, cramping, or major digestive changes. She initially assumed the bleeding was from hemorrhoids, especially as friends and family echoed that explanation. Even as TikTok videos about colon cancer and blood in the stool kept surfacing on her feed, the idea that this symptom could mean cancer still felt distant and unreal.

Interviewed by: Nikki Murphy
Edited by: Chris Sanchez

When Meagan finally saw her primary care physician, she felt heard and taken seriously immediately. Her doctor ordered blood work, a fecal calprotectin test, a CT scan, and a referral to a gastroenterologist (GI specialist), but everything came back essentially normal except for slight anemia. Embarrassed and questioning whether she had pushed too hard, Meagan still kept her GI visit, where the specialist recommended going “all the way” to a colonoscopy. That test revealed a 4-centimeter tumor in her sigmoid colon, and a subsequent surgery showed that seven of 20 lymph nodes were positive, confirming that she had high-risk stage 3C colon cancer at just 24.

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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.

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Meet Meagan: Stage 3 colon cancer at 24

My name is Meagan, I’m 24 years old, and I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2025, when I was 24 years old.

Life before my colon cancer diagnosis

Before my diagnosis, I was very busy. I was in school to become a teacher, so I was student teaching, which is basically when you teach without pay. It is kind of like an internship. I was doing that the entire full semester before my diagnosis. For the two years prior, I was also doing a master’s program, so I was very busy with school.

I was excited to finish school and be able to actually be a teacher with my own classroom. I am in a serious relationship, so I was looking forward to after graduation and what our life together would look like in terms of moving in, getting engaged, all those things.

First symptoms and taking action

First signs of colon cancer: Blood in my stool

I first started having my only symptom in August of 2024. I noticed a little bit of blood in my stool, but I did not think anything of it. I also was not the greatest in terms of diet, exercise, and water intake, so my family and friends all suggested that it was most likely hemorrhoids, because I also would not go to the bathroom very often. They were thinking it was related to that.

The blood would not be there every time, which was another reason I was not concerned, and it was not in large amounts. Sometimes I almost never noticed it at all. I really, truly — even all the way until when I went to see my doctor in February of 2025 — did not think anything deeper than hemorrhoids. I did not have stomach issues. I did not have pain, cramping, or any inconsistencies. I was just a very constipated girl, so I did not think anything other than hemorrhoids.

Living with symptoms for months before seeing a doctor

From August to February, I did not go to the doctor. I was not using hemorrhoid cream or anything at home. I honestly was just thinking that the symptoms would go away on their own.

By the time I went to the doctor, I had finally gotten to a point where I thought, “Wow, these are very stubborn hemorrhoids. They are not resolving. It is continuing to be something that I am noticing.” So I decided I might as well go see the doctor and see if there was something she could give me or do for me that would help resolve the situation.

Most of that time, I was just in school regularly and working as a substitute teacher. My mind was in a totally different place. I was not focused on my health or thinking that it could be anything serious.

Shortly before I went to the doctor, I started getting a lot of TikTok videos of people having colon cancer. I did slightly have that in my mind. I did not think I was going to have it, but I thought maybe I should think about getting something looked at, because everyone would talk about the symptoms, and blood in the stool was the biggest symptom they mentioned. But because I did not have other symptoms, I still did not think it would be something that would affect me.

TikTok, Google, and the push to see a doctor

I was not searching for my symptoms on TikTok. I had Googled my symptom, but I never did anything related to TikTok, so I was confused how that connection got there. It felt like it was meant to be for me to go to the doctor and for me to see those things.

It honestly felt like it was meant to be that TikTok started showing me colon cancer videos and pushed me to go to the doctor.

Path to diagnosis

The primary care doctor who took my concerns seriously

I saw my primary care physician in February, and luckily, she was amazing. She took my concern seriously and ordered every single step for me from the beginning. I have heard a lot of people say they saw their primary care and were told, “Okay, let’s do blood work and then see what happens,” but she just ordered everything — boom, boom, boom.

I had blood work, a fecal calprotectin test (to detect inflammation in the colon), a CT scan, and an appointment with a GI specialist to refer me for a colonoscopy.

I got the blood work done. The only abnormal thing was slight anemia, not full-blown anemia, but slight anemia, which is also a symptom. The fecal calprotectin test came back normal and did not show any inflammation in my colon. The CT scan also came back normal, but I did have a lot of stool in my body, so I am assuming that had something to do with why it came back normal, because maybe they were not able to see the mass because it was blocked.

After all those tests came back normal, I was feeling a little embarrassed. I still had my GI appointment booked, and I went anyway. I told her, “You know what? I honestly think that I am just fine. I do not know why I went this far. I was having this symptom, and it is still happening, but I do not know.”

Luckily, she took me very seriously, even though I was not taking myself seriously. She said, “We have gone this far. Let us go all the way and do the colonoscopy. There is no harm in it. It is not fun, but at least we can see physically what is happening inside and figure something out for you.”

Those were my steps, and then I got my colonoscopy at the beginning of June, where they found the tumor.

Colonoscopy prep and the day of the procedure

My GI specialist was very kind and did not want me to have to do the Golytely jug, because a lot of people struggle with that. I did SUPREP for my colonoscopy prep, which is two smaller bottles, and most of the prep involves drinking water as opposed to drinking a large, bad-tasting solution.

Even with Suprep, I still had a really hard time. It does not taste good. I got pretty sick drinking it, but I made it through and drank all of it. My parents were very encouraging. They kept telling me, “You are this far. You are doing the prep. You need to push through, keep doing it, go in for the colonoscopy, and have this be over.”

My colonoscopy was very early in the morning, so I went in first thing and went from there.

Hearing “We found a tumor” after my colonoscopy

I was rolled into the room for my colonoscopy and saw the doctor beforehand. He said, “Hey, Meagan, nice to meet you. I am just going to get in here really quickly, check everything out, and we will get you out super quickly. It should be easy-peasy.”

I fell asleep right away. When I woke up in the recovery room, the nurse came in and said they had called my mom to come back, and that the doctor was going to talk to both of us about how the colonoscopy went. That is not typically normal at my clinic. Usually, the person who picks you up just gets you to the car; they never come inside. The fact that they said my mom was coming inside should have been a red flag, but I was still groggy from anesthesia. I was just thinking, “Okay, great, my mom will be here,” and I did not think anything serious was coming.

The doctor came in and said, “Okay, I found something. It is honestly taking a lot for me to gather my words to say this because I have not seen anyone your age in this situation, but I found a tumor.” He said it was four centimeters. The next step was 100% surgery to remove it. He could not take it out during the colonoscopy because it was too large.

He was very hopeful and left it up in the air that it could be cancer or a very advanced polyp. Leaving the appointment, I was terrified, but I was not 100% sure it was cancer. He told me he had taken biopsies from the tumor and was sending them to the lab, and that I would hear in a few days whether it was cancer or not.

How I found out I had colon cancer: My biopsy results online

He sent the biopsies to Quest Diagnostics, and I have an account with them, so I can see my results for blood work and biopsies. He told me we would hopefully get the biopsy results by Friday, since my colonoscopy was on a Tuesday, but if we did not have them by Friday, I would have to wait until Monday, which felt like torture.

On Friday, I was checking Quest every five minutes, just hoping the results would be there. Five o’clock rolled around, and the results still were not there, so I knew he would not be calling me with results that day, and I would have to wait.

At 9 p.m. on Friday, June 6th, I saw the results on Quest. It said it was a moderately differentiated ulcerated adenocarcinoma in the sigmoid colon. Essentially, it meant it was cancer. I had to digest that information without having spoken to the doctor yet.

I was with my mom, my dad, and my best friend, Sarah. I was hysterical. My initial reaction was the same as most people who find out they have cancer: my first thought was, “I do not want to die.” I was absolutely terrified. Looking back, I feel terrible for the people who were there in that moment, because there is nothing you can say that will make the person feel better.

The doctor who performed my colonoscopy took it upon himself to call me on Saturday. He told me it was cancer, thinking I had not seen the results yet. He took time out of his weekend to call me because he knew I was being tortured by the wait. He was really kind to do that, and I appreciated it so much. He told me it was cancer, and that my next steps would be with a surgeon and an oncologist.

Staging, surgery, and treatment decisions

Fears about staging and waiting for surgery

After the colonoscopy, I had to wait a lot. I woke up not knowing if it was cancer and had to wait for biopsy results. Once I found out it was cancer, I had to wait for surgery to find out the stage.

I did have a CT scan following my colonoscopy that showed the lymph node right next to my sigmoid colon, where the tumor was, was enlarged. My colonoscopy doctor told me not to let myself spiral yet, because I was very young and my immune system is extremely active, so my lymph nodes could just be reacting to the tumor and trying to fight it. That could be why they looked enlarged and did not automatically mean they had cancer. That made me feel a little better.

Deep down, though, I had a fear of it being stage 3. At that point, I knew it most likely was not stage 4 because the CT scan did not show anything distant in my body, just in those lymph nodes. It was scary not knowing if it would be stage 3 or not, because stage 3 and stage 4 are later stages, and that sounds very terrifying to hear at 24.

Colon cancer surgery, and finding out it was stage 3C

After finding out it was cancer, my first step before seeing an oncologist was to see a surgeon, because they did not know how to treat me until they knew the stage. Surgery was the main indicator of my next step.

My surgery was scheduled for a couple of weeks after my colonoscopy. They took out 25 centimeters of my colon and 20 lymph nodes around the area to be biopsied. Seven lymph nodes came back positive, which is a lot, so I was considered high-risk stage 3, technically stage 3C.

I then went to see my oncologist. She told me I needed to do six months of FOLFOX chemotherapy, no matter what, because we wanted to really make sure the cancer would not be able to come back. In my surgery, we had clear margins, so all visible cancer was removed, but with stage 3, there could be microscopic cells that are not visible on scans or during surgery. Chemotherapy’s purpose was to kill anything that might not have been removed.

I had a second opinion at UCSD, and that doctor agreed with my oncologist’s treatment plan. For stage 3, FOLFOX chemotherapy is the standard of care. The main difference tends to be how long you do it. In my case, I had to do the longest course to make sure we were being as aggressive as possible.

Chemotherapy and side effects

My FOLFOX chemotherapy schedule and side effects

Chemotherapy was really hard. I struggled a lot. I had to go every other week for six months. I would go in on Wednesday and be connected to an overnight pump that I slept with on Wednesday night and Thursday night. On Friday, I was disconnected from the pump. Usually, I felt very sick from Wednesday through Sunday of my treatment week.

My main side effects were nausea, very little appetite, and severe cold sensitivity from one of the chemo drugs, which meant I could not touch, eat, or drink anything cold.

I even struggled to drink room temperature water after treatment because it felt like I was swallowing razor blades. It was very uncomfortable and made daily tasks hard because I could not touch anything cold.

Another lasting side effect I still have is neuropathy. I cannot feel my fingers or my toes. I have really struggled to do daily tasks now that I am done with treatment. It feels like the gift that keeps on giving from chemo.

The toughest days of treatment: Physical and mental

The thing I struggled with most during treatment was the mental aspect. You feel very sick physically, which makes it hard to stay mentally strong. I had days when I was so nauseous I could not drink water or eat anything. I was just lying on the couch, in and out of sleep.

It was really hard to stay strong mentally and get through those days, but I reminded myself that the following week I would feel better. The breaks between cycles helped me feel more like myself. If I had had six straight months of constantly feeling sick, it would have been a lot harder to get through.

Knowing there was an end in sight, each round, and that it was not too far away, helped me keep going. I tried to look forward to my week off from treatment, make plans, and do things I could look forward to. That helped me move forward through the rough days. I still had days when I was very physically sick, and my stomach was so sensitive that eating was difficult.

Realizing “This is my reality” at 24

I think reality hit me pretty quickly. From the beginning, I was very aware of what I was dealing with. It hit even harder once I started treatment. With surgery, everything was very quick — boom, boom, boom — and then it was done.

During treatment, there was a long stretch of time where I was watching all my friends continue their lives. Their lives kept going, and mine was completely put on pause. That hit me very hard. This was my reality — and it was not a fun reality to be part of.

I also struggled in some friendships. It is frustrating seeing your friends being happy and doing normal 24-year-old things when you are stuck at home, feeling sick, and struggling.

Young adult life, plans, and fertility

How colon cancer disrupted my 20s

Being diagnosed with later-stage cancer in your 20s is especially hard because your 20s are such a pivotal time. There is so much that happens — career, relationships, independence — that cancer completely disrupts.

No one is usually aware of their own mortality until they are in a situation like mine. I get frustrated knowing I have friends who can live as normal 24-year-old women as I used to, where death and mortality feel so far away and not real. When you are young, you feel disconnected from that.

When you get diagnosed with late-stage cancer, you think, “Oh my gosh, I have my entire life left to live. I am not ready for this.” It feels like an immediate threat you have never had to confront before. It is really hard to make that adjustment, especially when you want a career, marriage, and a family, and all of that suddenly feels very out of reach.

How cancer changed my career and motherhood plans

I had planned to become a full-time teacher much sooner. After going through treatment and everything else, I am delaying that. I am going to stick to being a substitute teacher a little longer, because I appreciate the flexibility of readjusting to “normal” life. I can work when I want to or not work when I do not want to, and I do not have a big obligation to a full-time job. I am still employed but can work as much or as little as I want.

In terms of my relationship and motherhood, I had hoped to have kids much sooner than I will now, or at least much sooner than I will be comfortable with. I am now in the monitoring phase and have to get scans every six months, usually PET or CT scans, which are not safe to get when pregnant. So I will have to delay having kids by maybe three to five years because I want to show up for myself, do those scans, and catch anything early if it comes back.

I do not want to put my own health on the back burner for the sake of starting a family, even though that is something I really want. I want to make sure I will be okay before making the choice to bring a life into the world.

Egg freezing before chemotherapy

My oncologist told me in my initial appointment that chemotherapy could damage my eggs. Because I am young, she said that is somewhat in my favor — my ovaries are more resilient than if I were older — but she still recommended that I freeze my eggs just in case. It is much better to have the option there if I cannot naturally conceive.

I went through the egg-freezing process, and now I have eggs frozen, so if I need them, I will be able to use them.

Relationships, friends, and mental health

What my friends do not understand about life after cancer

I think a lot of people my age do not understand the constant fear and anxiety after treatment. During treatment, they do not fully understand how you feel physically or emotionally. They do not understand what it is like to watch them live their normal lives while you cannot, and they do not understand what it is physically like to go through chemo.

They also do not understand what it feels like not to be able to use your hands for daily tasks because of neuropathy. One of the biggest things I struggle with is that they do not understand the constant fear and anxiety that follows you after treatment is over. Being in remission can feel almost debilitating because you live with the worry of, “What happens if it comes back? What am I going to do? I do not want to die.”

People say, “You are in remission. Why would you be worried about dying?” But death is still a very real possibility in stage 3 cancer. It can come back. It does not mean it will, but it can. Everyone says you cannot worry because no amount of worrying will change the outcome. I know that, but it does not change the fact that the worry is there.

Finishing chemotherapy and ringing the bell

Ringing the bell was mostly a really good day. I felt very happy and proud of myself because I had been looking forward to that moment and wanted to give myself some grace. Throughout this journey, I have been very hard on myself mentally.

That day, I felt like I was able to give myself more grace than I ever had because I went through something so hard — something most people do not understand — and I felt like I handled it well. I was proud of how I went through it, and proud of how I maintained my relationship and friendships. Most of that day was good.

Toward the end of the day, the fear started creeping in. It happened quickly — I moved from, “I am proud of myself,” to, “Okay, now what am I supposed to do? I feel like I do not have control over anything.”

I finished treatment and rang the bell on February 6th, which was very recent — just about a week ago.

What survivorship means to me right now

I am very wary of using the term “survivor.” My mom has always been involved in Relay For Life every year, where they raise awareness and do a survivor walk. She asked if I would be willing to participate in the survivor walk, and I told her I am not comfortable with that yet.

It is a mental game for me. I am not comfortable calling myself a survivor before it truly is what it is. I do not think I will consider myself a true survivor until I go five years without it coming back, because that is when I would be considered cured. Right now, I am just in remission.

Survivorship is hard. It is hard to be post-treatment and see people on TikTok — because I am very active on TikTok — who are newly going through the journey, and to try to help them, because so many people helped me. It is also hard to see people who have it worse than you. Your heart aches, and you almost do not know how to speak to them.

I think, “If that were me and someone else had it not as bad, and they were struggling, I would want to say, ‘Be grateful for what you have.’” It is just hard all around. It is a whole complex journey.

How I support myself in remission

Top ways I support my mental health after treatment

Right now, I am trying to be gentle with myself mentally. I am in therapy, where I talk through my feelings, struggles, and anxieties, and I try to stay on top of that. I am planning on joining support groups and being more present in the aftermath of treatment by talking to other people and getting different perspectives.

Most people I am close to — friends, my partner, and family — do not understand certain aspects of what I am going through. They are amazing in many ways, but certain things are only understood by people who have been through it themselves. Support groups help me feel more understood and supported.

I am also working out. I have never been a person who goes to the gym, but I have done a lot of research and learned that exercise can actively lower recurrence risk in colon cancer. I am committing to 120 to 160 minutes of moderate exercise, focusing mostly on brisk walking for a couple of miles at least five times a week.

I am paying more attention to what I consume. I try to limit additives in my food, eat the rainbow with more fruits and vegetables, increase my fiber intake, and really listen to my body — while giving myself grace that my body is trying to recalibrate and learn how it is supposed to be now.

What I eat in a day to support my gut and colon

A typical day of food for me looks like this:

• Breakfast: Probiotic yogurt, because probiotics promote regularity in bowel movements.
  
• Before the gym: A protein bar, since I prefer going in the early or middle part of the day.
  
• After the gym: A fruit bowl or avocado toast — something with fruits or vegetables so I have a solid, nourishing lunch.
  
• Dinner: This is what I have been working on most. I have never been a big cook, so I am trying to improve in the kitchen and make really healthy meals. I incorporate a lot more fish and chicken now and try to limit red meat, because red meat takes longer to digest and is harder on the colon. I try to have a vegetable in every meal — things like salmon bowls, chicken pasta, and similar meals.

How social media helps me with food and lifestyle changes

I get most of my inspiration and advice from social media. It gives me a lot of good recipes to follow. I am not the type of person who can just grab random ingredients and create a dish. I need a picture and a recipe to follow, so having those examples on social media is really helpful for me.

Honestly, I do not know how I would eat this well without social media giving me recipes and visuals to follow.

Becoming a “workout girl” after treatment

It is nice to be in the gym now, even though I always struggled with working out before. The gym atmosphere used to feel very intimidating. Luckily, I go to a gym that is not very busy. If it were packed and I had to wait for everything I wanted to use, I probably would not go.

Because it is quiet, I can get in, do what I want to do, not talk to anyone, and leave. Since I am very early in my post-treatment phase, I have been focusing only on walking and have not done strength-building exercises yet, because I know I have almost no muscle to work with. I am starting by increasing my endurance with a few miles of walking on the treadmill.

It honestly feels really good to go and be productive. My boyfriend has always been into the gym, and I used to say I did not like going and did not find it fun. But it actually is therapeutic to go, and you feel really good afterward. It is nice to feel good physically, because before I was more lazy and would not do anything. Now I feel like a whole new person.

Giving myself grace and dealing with neuropathy frustration

One of the main things I would tell other people going through this journey is to never stop reminding yourself that it is okay to be gentle with yourself. Now that I am done with treatment, the mental health aspect has been the hardest.

I am extremely grateful for my boyfriend, my family, and his family, because I have not been the best version of myself since finishing treatment. Honestly, I felt like I was better during treatment than I have been afterward. I struggle a lot with neuropathy. It really frustrates me, and I get angry when I cannot open a jar, make the bed, or do the dishes — things I should be able to do and used to be able to do before all of this.

I really appreciate everyone for being so patient. My biggest advice for others is that it is okay, and nothing is going to happen overnight. You are not going to go back to who you were; you never will be who you were. But you will be better eventually. It just takes time.

Genetics and family history

Genetic testing and biomarkers

I did have genetic testing done, but I do not have any genetic mutations.

My family history of cancer

My mom’s mom had gastric cancer. She was in her 70s when she was diagnosed, and it was stage 4 because it had already spread to her liver and lungs. She ended up passing away.

I have talked to my doctors about whether that history is relevant for me. They said that, considering she was diagnosed later in life, they would not necessarily classify it as relevant family history for my situation.

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