[Originally published: Jan. 29, 2020. Updated: March 2, 2023]
No one gets colon cancer in their 20s, 30s, or 40s, right? mistaken. The truth is that colorectal cancer is increasing among young adults and has been increasing for many years. For this reason, Yale Medicine surgeons who treat the disease recommend that people under 45 (including college students) call their doctor if they have any suspicious symptoms, such as constipation, rectal bleeding, or sudden changes in bowel movements. I am calling on you to do so.
Physicians at Yale Medicine Colon and Rectal Surgery report that they are seeing younger patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer more frequently. They diagnosed colon cancer in a father of four in his 30s who had believed for months that his rectal bleeding was due to hemorrhoids. There was a week when all seven patients at this clinic who were diagnosed with rectal cancer were young. The oldest is 35 years old. The youngest colorectal cancer patient diagnosed here in recent months was 18 years old.
“We’re seeing a clear increase in colorectal cancer in younger people,” he says. Haddon Pantel, MD, colorectal surgeon at Yale Medicine.
At the same time, colorectal cancer is still most frequently diagnosed in people aged 65 and older, but the incidence in that group is decreasing, and older people are diagnosed with more advanced disease than people younger than 50. less likely to occur.
If you notice any changes in your bowel habits, if you have bleeding, or if you think you have hemorrhoids and they don’t go away, get a colonoscopy.
Vikram Reddy, MD, PhD, Colorectal Surgeon
Although colorectal cancer is often highly treatable, diagnosis can be a major challenge for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen Xers, who range in age from their mid-20s to late 50s. It can interrupt your career and damage your personal finances. Young people diagnosed with colorectal cancer may need to make quick and important decisions, such as about storing sperm or eggs, in case treatment affects their fertility.
About 15 years ago, Yale University School of Medicine surgeon Vikram Reddy, MD, conducted one of the first studies to identify the rising incidence of colorectal cancer among young people. “The trend is still continuing, so it wasn’t a temporary thing,” Dr. Reddy says.
Dr. Reddy and his colleagues are passionate about educating people so that cancer is diagnosed early, when it is most treatable. “If you notice any changes in your bowel habits, if you notice any bleeding, or even if you think you have hemorrhoids but they don’t go away, get a colonoscopy,” Dr. Reddy says.
in Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale Medicine’s colorectal surgeons treat large numbers of patients with all types of cancers of the colon and rectum. They work closely with other specialists such as oncologists, geneticists, gastroenterologists, and radiologists to determine the best treatment.