‘Wasn’t normal’: Colorectal cancer rates rising among young adults
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Nearly a year ago, John Johnson of Westlake was the epitome of health, eating the right foods and staying active, completing the 2023 Cleveland marathon in less than three hours.
But just a few weeks later, the young father of two would receive a life-altering diagnoses, after noticing blood in his stool.
“As it kept on showing up, I knew it wasn’t normal,” he said. “I also thought it may have been due to the training that I was doing, it was pretty intense. So maybe it was a ruptured hemorrhoid or something like that.”
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A colonoscopy would reveal a tumor, Johnson had stage two colon cancer.
“I was immediately thinking about my wife, how she would respond to her husband, her partner having cancer,” he said.
Being diagnosed at the age of 35 here at the Cleveland Clinic, Johnson is among the rising number of young adults developing colorectal cancer in the United States.
Colorectal cancer is the second most deadliest cancer and while the disease has dropped overall for older adults, the rise in cases in young people is prompting Ohio’s top heath officials to sound the alarm here at home.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Director of the Ohio Department of Health said, “the American Cancer Society reports those 55-and younger, colorectal cancer rates have been increasing by 1%-2% a year since about the mid-1990s.”
Vanderhoff holding a virtual press conference Wednesday, noting a recent study which shows millennials, born in the 80s and 90s, now have twice the risk of colon cancer and four times the risk of rectal cancer compared to older adults.
Potential causes he says include stress, bad diet and lifestyle.
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Doctors say for starters, eating healthier foods that support the body’s microbiome, also known as the quarterback of our immune system, is key.
Dr. Rekha Chaudhary, a UC health oncologist said, “How do you get a diverse microbiome? Eating a high fiber diet, which the World Health Organizations recommends eating 20 to 25 grams a day. The average American gets 15 grams of fiber a day.”
“As I was going through treatment, I was the youngest person, by over 20 years in the hospital and in the waiting room,” he said.
After weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, Johnson says his tumor is completely gone. He’s now focusing on staying healthy, not only for himself, but also for his young family.
“Colon cancer is actually very curable when caught early so that’s the most hopeful statement that anybody can hear. Get it checked,” he said.
The American Cancer Society recommends that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start screening at age 45. But with the latest statistics, doctors are pushing for those screenings to start at a younger age.
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