24-year-old colon cancer patient highlights growing number of young people receiving shocking diagnosis
TAMPA, Fla. - A 24-year-old received a shocking diagnosis from her doctor.
Bailey Mcbreen is a nurse who takes care of herself. She works out and eats right. But right now she's fighting colon cancer.
"I almost looked at it like he was telling me about a patient who just got diagnosed, and I couldn't comprehend that I was the patient in that moment. I just remember telling my mom, I don't want to die. That was it," recalled Mcbreen.
She said she didn't experience the common symptoms initially.
"I guess my two biggest symptoms was ultimately burping and reflux. That started about two years prior to me getting diagnosed. About one week before I got diagnosed, my symptoms basically snowballed into effect and that's when I started to experience severe pain in my abdomen. I stopped eating. I had all the symptoms of a bowel obstruction," shared Mcbreen.
Mcbreen didn't experience the common symptoms initially.
Her doctor at Moffitt Cancer Center said he's seeing more young people like her.
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"I've seen patients as young as 19. I'm sure that there are probably younger patients," said Dr. Iman Imanirad.
"I didn't realize that the rise of cancer was so high in such a young population, and I'm a nurse," said Mcbreen.
There are theories as to why.
"Environmental factors such as diet, such as exercise, such as alcohol intake and also exposure early in early life to certain things such as antibiotics," Dr. Iman Imanirad
"It has to be our food and the environment and the exposures that my generation had as younger individuals, as our toddlers, as infants," said Mcbreen.
Bayfront Health St. Petersburg uses GI Genius.
Because more younger people are being diagnosed, screening guidelines have been updated to start at age 45 instead of 50. Mcbreen's doctor says by the time some patients seek help, the disease has often progressed.
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"And the reason for that is that these symptoms that young people come in with is often overlooked because it's either young people are reluctant to seek medical care at the time, or alternatively, even if they do, the symptoms are attributed to two other causes rather than being cancerous," said Dr. Imanirad.
Doctors are also turning to artificial intelligence to help pinpoint polyps and suspected tumors during colonoscopies. One device being used by Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is called GI Genius.
"It helps us identify polyps, locate them faster and help us remove them," said Dr. Randhir Jesudoss.
Cologuard is a home screening test.
There are also home screening tests like Cologuard.
"Yes. Cologuard is a good test, and one screening test is better than none. Even if you don't have a positive Cologuard, we need to understand that you may still be harboring these pre-cancerous lesions in the colon, which may still be negative for a Cologuard test," said Dr. Benjamin Tharian.
Mcbreen hopes her story sends a message to other younger people to not ignore symptoms and don't wait to get checked.
"Unfortunately, no one is safe from cancer.You can be the healthiest person in the world working out five days a week, and you are still at risk," shared Mcbreen.
Her family set up a GoFundMe to help her with medical expenses.
For more information about colon cancer, click here.