I got stage 4 colon cancer at 28 — I wish I hadn’t ignored these symptoms

Five years after being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer at 28, Joe Faratzis is reflecting on the six red flags that signaled he was struggling with a serious disease.

“I put these symptoms off for months before finally going to get a colonoscopy,” Faratzis admitted on TikTok. “Don’t risk your life by waiting to see a doc. Early screening could save you and your family.”

The US Preventive Services Task Force updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines in 2021 to lower the recommended age to start screening from 50 to 45 for adults at average risk.

A steady rise in rates of colorectal cancer among adults under 50 prompted the change. Experts urge seeing a health care provider right away, no matter your age, if you have any symptoms of colon cancer.

Faratzis told Self magazine that he began experiencing signs in 2019. The longtime TMZ producer was experiencing mild pain in his abdomen when bent over and shared his concerns with his primary care doctor, who ordered a CT scan. Faratzis confessed that he blew off the test, figuring it wasn’t necessary.

Six months later, he noticed blood on his toilet paper — but again, he dismissed it as no big deal, assuming it was caused by hemorrhoids.

Faratzis says now that he thought he was “invincible,” but admits he also didn’t want to have to get an awkward digital rectal exam.

Finally, things got bad enough that he couldn’t brush off his symptoms any longer.

“The big catalyst that motivated me to take my symptoms seriously occurred a few months later. I was sitting on the couch and I passed gas, looked down, and saw blood,” explained Faratzis, now 34. “I went to the bathroom and there was about a half a cup of blood in the toilet. It wasn’t painful, but I was like, ‘Holy f–k — obviously there’s some issue here.’”

Colorectal cancer develops in the tissues of the colon or rectum — both are part of the large intestine in the digestive system.

The disease is caused by changes in DNA, which can be inherited from parents or acquired later in life by consuming a low-fiber and high-fat Western diet, adopting a sedentary lifestyle, drinking a lot of alcohol and/or smoking.

It’s the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US, with the American Cancer Society estimating that about 53,000 Americans will die of colorectal cancer this year.

Early detection can improve survival chances. Treatment often involves surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

These are the six symptoms he wish he hadn’t ignored:

• Constant sweating and night sweats

• Lower right abdominal pain

• More frequent trips to the bathroom

• Slight abdominal cramps when bending over

• Constipation and cramps

• Blood in stool

“[One thing] that I should have paid more attention to is just noticing that I was going to the bathroom way more often than I should have, probably like a couple times a day,” he said on TikTok.

Faratzis said he underwent oral and intravenous chemotherapy and procedures to remove the section of his colon containing cancer and burn and freeze lesions that developed on his lungs and liver.

“If I got the CT scan back in 2019 when I had my earliest colorectal cancer symptoms — I might not have wound up in the position I’m in now,” Faratzis lamented to Self in March.

With chemo and other treatments, though, Faratzis’ health improved, and in 2023 he got back his first clear CT scans. In April, he celebrated a year of clear scans.

His most recent one was last week. He noted: “I get to, I guess, kind of forget about this for another three months” — until his next scan.

Faratzis has been speaking out on social media to warn others about the signs they may be missing.

“Turns out, having a functioning rectum is actually really important for your quality of life,” he said.

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