Too young for cancer? Colorectal cancer is challenging that assumption.
Updated: Aug 17
By Shreya Jyotishi, Rosana Wahdat, Ghita Qordamet, Yinqi Xiao and Katalina Valdez
August 7, 2026
Youthcast Media Group®
Yesenia Barrios woke up from anesthesia after a colonoscopy with one thing on her mind: food.
The 27-year-old nanny living in New York joked with a medical assistant in the recovery area about getting some crackers after fasting for a full day of pre-procedure prep. The nurse delivered only a serious look in return.
Minutes later, doctors told Barrios they were forced to stop the procedure because an obstruction blocked their way through her rectum.
No one said the word "cancer." But Barrios knew something was wrong when her gastrointestinal doctor put a hand on her knee.
"We found something, but don't worry, we'll get it taken care of,” he told her.
Barrios' experience reflects a broader shift in colorectal cancer incidence. While diagnoses are declining in people aged 65 and up, they are rising in those 20 to 49 years old, according to the American Cancer Society. The trend has prompted experts to urge younger adults not to ignore persistent digestive issues and symptoms like rectal bleeding — even in their 20s and 30s.
Northern Virginia gastroenterologist Alexander Jow, who notes that early diagnosis is critical, said that research now shows people born in the ‘90s have roughly twice the risk of colon cancer compared to people born in the ‘50s. In fact, medical authorities in 2021 dropped the recommended age for screenings from 50 to 45 years old.
”I’m seeing colon cancers in all different ages,” said Dr. Jow, who works for Kaiser Permanente. “I'm seeing them in 20-year-olds, I'm seeing them in 30-year-olds.”
Researchers are still working to understand why colorectal cancer is increasing among younger adults. Jow pointed to factors including obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and diets high in processed foods.
The symptoms young people shouldn’t overlook
Health experts say recognizing symptoms early can improve survival rates because the disease is highly treatable when caught quickly. Jow said the most important warning sign is rectal bleeding, or blood in the stool. Other symptoms can include persistent changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss and anemia.
But symptoms alone don’t guarantee a quick diagnosis. Younger patients are less likely to expect cancer is the cause — and their doctors may not either.
West Chester University student Katie Davis was 20 when she began having severe pain in the lower right side of her abdomen in September 2024. After trying to ignore it for a month, she went to urgent care, where doctors told her she likely had an ovarian cyst, and to go to the emergency department if she felt worse.
After her pain worsened and she felt nauseated a month later, she did. Doctors there ordered scans and found significant inflammation and fluid in her abdomen. They told her it could be Crohn’s, colitis or cancer, and scheduled her for a colonoscopy.
The colonoscopy, about a month later, revealed a large tumor. A biopsy confirmed Stage 2 colorectal cancer.
Davis, 22, now cancer free and an advocate for colorectal cancer education, said she was frustrated by healthcare providers who seemed to brush off her concerns.
“I kind of wasn't taken as seriously, even like when I was in the emergency room,” she said. After she told her primary care doctor that cancer had been raised as a possibility, he told her “cancer, like don’t say the word cancer. That’s really dramatic.”
For Davis, the experience reinforced how important it is for young patients to speak up when something doesn’t feel right.
“It does happen to young people, too,” she said. “Ask as many questions as you have, and don’t ignore your symptoms.”
Sometimes, patients have to push for answers
Barrios knows how frustrating it can be to suffer and not be taken seriously.
Months before her diagnosis, Barrios, now 30, suffered severe bloating, constipation, heartburn and rectal bleeding. Multiple doctors attributed her symptoms to hemorrhoids and pushed her to eat more fiber.
Looking back, Barrios said she had spent "months, maybe years" living with symptoms she didn't realize were warning signs.
From the time she first sought help for her symptoms in May to her colonoscopy in January, eight months elapsed.
After the colonoscopy — a procedure to screen for colorectal cancer, polyps or find reasons for stomach pain — Barrios’ doctor referred her to Northwell Health on the Upper East Side. There, she said, one of the hardest moments of her journey came when a radiation oncologist explained that because of the tumor’s proximity to her uterus, radiation treatment would likely leave her infertile.
"I was heartbroken," Barrios said.
While she processed the diagnosis, Barrios also scrambled to preserve her fertility. She continued working full time as a nanny while undergoing blood tests and ultrasounds to prepare for egg retrieval.
A connection eventually got Barrios a second opinion at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Doctors recommended four rounds of intensive chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before surgery. Then, after doctors removed the tumor, she temporarily lived with an ostomy bag.
Even after surviving cancer, her battle wasn’t over.
After the bag was removed, Barrios said she sometimes used the bathroom 15 to 20 times a day. She described living in a "constant cycle of anxiety where you don't know what certain foods will cost you." She found support through a Facebook group for people living with low anterior resection syndrome, a long-term bowel condition that can follow colorectal cancer surgery.
Three years after her last surgery, Barrios has returned to work as a nanny and freelance journalist. Life is better, she said, although she still plans trips, concerts and outings around access to a bathroom.
Davis is using her experience to help other young people recognize the signs of colorectal cancer.
After finishing treatment, Davis joined the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s Never Too Young task force, a group that works to raise awareness of the diagnosis among younger patients. She is the youngest member of the group and has pushed for more outreach to college students.
“I think getting to have speakers go to colleges and talk about symptom awareness [would be great],” she said. “If you reach out to more young people, they can know what to expect, know how to deal with it.”
Davis also encourages young people to ask questions and speak up during their medical appointments — something she learned to do during her own treatment.
“I definitely would sit in my appointments and just rattle off questions, because it kind of clears your head a little bit when you can just get it out loud and get answers,” she said.
For Barrios, the lesson is also about speaking up. She encourages young people to “know your body more than anyone” and trust their instincts.
"If something is wrong, if you feel like there's something wrong, there might be something wrong," she said. "You have to push for yourself and advocate for yourself."
Shreya Jyotishi is Youthcast Media Group’s assistant manager of content and programs. She and YMG volunteer Amy Eisman worked with students from Arlington Public Schools in Virginia in a journalism camp to write this story. Sophomore Ghita Qordamet (Washington-Liberty High School), senior Katalina Valdez (HB-Woodlawn High School), senior Rosana Wahdat (Wakefield High School), and sophomore Yinqi Xiao (Yorktown High School) contributed to this story.
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