The incidence of colorectal cancer among adults under 50 has increased by approximately 3% each year, according to multiple reports. About 45% of colorectal cancer diagnoses occur in people under 65 years old, and the five-year survival rate for distant colorectal cancer is 13%, the same sources indicate. This trend is reflected in personal stories of young adults diagnosed with advanced stages of the disease.
Natalie Hopper was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in March 2023 at age 42, multiple reports state. Doctors initially dismissed Natalie Hopper's symptoms as stress or diverticulitis, according to multiple reports. Katie Rich was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2018 at age 33, multiple reports indicate.
People would come up to my friends and family in the street and say I'm really sorry about your mum, and I remember thinking at the time: 'Hang on, I'm still alive. I'm fighting to live, but you're already talking about me like I'm dead.'
Amber Kissell was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 36, multiple reports state. Doctors initially dismissed Amber Kissell's symptoms as hemorrhoids or a fissure, according to multiple reports. Cheyenne Midwinter was diagnosed with bowel cancer at age 39, according to Daily Mirror - UK News.
Treatment journeys for these patients often involve aggressive approaches. Katie Rich started aggressive chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, multiple reports state. Cheyenne Midwinter underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor, according to Daily Mirror - UK News.
Stage four cancer isn't a death sentence and I think that there needs to be a more positive shift or change in how people approach it.
Zachary Whitfield was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 32 around the beginning of 2025, according to Daily Mail - News. Zachary Whitfield's colon removal surgery was postponed because the cancer had spread beyond his colon, the same source reports. In a separate case, Lawrence Fox was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in December 2024 at age 67, multiple reports state.
Lawrence Fox was initially told he had nine months to live, and his tumor was 75mm and deemed inoperable, the same sources indicate. After 12 rounds of chemotherapy, Lawrence Fox's tumor shrank to 15mm and is no longer stage four, multiple reports state. Fewer than 10% of patients with stage four pancreatic cancer survive beyond five years, multiple reports indicate.
I was going through a separation at the time and it took quite a long time to get diagnosed because when I went to my doctor and said I had bowel changes they just put it down to stress.
Financial and family impacts add to the burden for younger cancer patients. Zachary Whitfield is the sole provider for his three children, according to Daily Mail - News. A GoFundMe for Zachary Whitfield had raised about $10,500 of a $14,000 goal, the same source reports.
The exact causes or risk factors driving the increase in colorectal cancer among younger adults remain unclear, and it is unknown how common the experience of having symptoms dismissed by doctors due to age is among younger cancer patients. Specific public health measures or screening guidelines to address this rise have not been detailed in the reports, and current treatment outcomes or survival rates for the specific patients mentioned beyond their initial diagnoses are not confirmed. Support systems or financial assistance available for patients facing income loss due to cancer treatment, such as Zachary Whitfield, have not been specified.
I did ask two or three times, 'should I be worried about cancer?', but they said I was too young for cancer. I was only 42 at the time and my symptoms started when I was about 40.
It took fresh eyes for someone to actually go, hang on a minute, this isn't right.
My whole world imploded. Up to that day, I was self-employed as a decluttering specialist for people with hoarding disorder and had just got my own flat.
You know what? You're 33 years old. Don't worry about it.
At first I saw blood and went to my primary care doctor, who said it was a fissure.
He told me I had haemorrhoids and sent me on my way.
Before I left the third visit, I even asked, ‘Are you sure I don’t have cancer?’ He said, ‘No, you’re too young.’
I should have gone for another opinion right then. But I was in denial, nobody wants to believe they could be seriously ill.
I would wake up in the morning feeling like I had a hangover even though I hadn't been drinking. I just felt unwell all the time.
I had horrible abdominal pain, I was literally lying on the floor crying. I thought it was the flu and brushed it off.
The doctor said, ‘Well, it does look like you have cancer.’
I still remember that phone call and exactly where I was standing. When they told me it was stage four, it was like my whole world stopped.
I thought it was either a dairy intolerance, or it was IBS. No part of me that thought it could be cancer at that point.
When they told me and my husband, Dan, that they had found a tumour, it was devastating, as you think the worst.
I wasn't digesting my food properly – it was basically just coming straight out of me. I also had the runs – within a couple of hours of eating anything, I needed the toilet.
That wakes you up. My thought was – they obviously think I can take this chemo, and they wouldn't be doing it if they didn't think there was a chance. So I thought, if they're going to give it to me, I've got to give it my all.
Before all of this, I was a family-first, hard-working guy just trying to build a life for my kids.
At the end of the day, I'm going to keep fighting, not just for me, but for my kids, for my faith, and for anyone out there who feels like they don't have a voice.
Especially at 32, because you just don't expect something like that this young.
That moment completely changed the direction of everything.
Within days, I began treatment, and it became clear just how serious my situation was.