A 24-Year-Old Was Diagnosed With Colon Cancer After One Subtle Symptom

Meagan Meadows had just started student teaching with a freshly minted master’s degree in education when something in her toilet got her attention.

She almost didn’t notice it at first. Meadows, who’s 24 and lives in Southern California, said she started to see a little bit of blood after going to the bathroom. It was incredibly faint — barely enough for her to feel scared, but she mentioned it to a couple of friends, and they urged her to get it checked out.

Initially, she assumed it was hemorrhoids, stress, something wrong with her diet, or all three. A doctor told her it was unlikely to be anything serious because of her age. Initial tests and scans all came back mostly normal, except for a mild iron deficiency and thickening of the intestinal wall that could be caused by dehydration or lack of fiber.

Still, just to be sure, Meadows scheduled a colonoscopy. She expected a diagnosis like ulcerative colitis and worried that she had overreacted.

“I just thought, I’m only 24, there’s no way I have anything going on,” Meadows told Business Insider. “I felt so embarrassed because clearly I was fine. I almost canceled my appointment.”

The procedure revealed a walnut-sized tumor in her colon. A biopsy later found it was cancer. Cue a string of follow-up tests, which showed the cancer had spread to the surrounding lymph nodes — a stage 3 diagnosis.

“When I woke up, they asked my mom to come in and get me so we could all be in the room with the doctor,” she said. “It was difficult to process.”

Meadows said she was shocked at the diagnosis and glad she had advocated for herself and gone through with the colonoscopy, but she wishes it had been sooner. She’s since been posting about her experience on TikTok, telling more than 2 million viewers about her diagnosis and the growing number of early-onset cases of colon cancer. She hopes she might encourage other young people to get checked, too, even if they think it’s probably fine.

“If I would have known that so many young people were getting diagnosed with colon cancer, I would have taken the symptom more seriously,” Meadows said.

Blood in stool is a serious symptom, but it’s easy to miss

Colon cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose because symptoms may not appear until the disease is already in an advanced stage. Typical symptoms, such as abdominal pain or changes to bathroom habits, can be vague and easy to confuse with other conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.

For people under 55 with colon cancer, the most common symptom is rectal bleeding, research suggests.

But Meadows said the blood in her stool — her only symptom of stage 3 colon cancer — was difficult to see. There was no blood on the toilet paper, and nothing clearly visible in the toilet, as it was mixed into the stool itself.

“It wasn’t in concerning amounts; it wasn’t there every time. I almost never noticed it there,” she said. “I easily wrote it off as something else.”

“I had an image in my head that blood in the stool would mean the bowl was just red.”

Rectal bleeding can feel difficult or embarrassing to discuss, and patients may be reluctant to mention it even with a healthcare provider, doctors previously told BI.

“It’s a pretty vulnerable thing,” Meadows said. “Obviously no one wants to talk about their poop, but it’s always better to get checked.”

Managing cancer as a young adult — and a ton of unexpected costs

Meadows said she was lucky to have health insurance through her parents to cover the costs of treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy.

Since chemo and surgery can affect fertility later in life, Meadows had to quickly decide prior to treatment whether she might ever want to have children.

She wanted the option, which meant undergoing expensive fertility preservation treatment. The out-of-pocket cost was about $10,000, including the egg retrieval procedure and required medications.

“The whole thing is so surreal. I went from being a normal 24-year-old to now having to plan for something I wasn’t even considering for years,” she said. “I didn’t expect I’d have to try to protect that at this age.”

One of her friends started a GoFundMe to help offset the cost.

While Meadows had been substitute teaching — an unpaid role — she’s had to postpone her career. Her weakened immune system from chemotherapy makes it risky to be at school, where germs can run rampant.

Now in the middle of rounds of chemo, Meadows said she’s coping with the help of her family, friends, and boyfriend. She also adopted a puppy, a cocker spaniel mix named Hughes, from a local shelter, for emotional support.

“If I didn’t have him, there would be days I didn’t leave the house,” she said.

Meadows said that to manage the hourslong chemo sessions and the time resting afterward, she has a long list of books to read and hopes to learn new hobbies such as crocheting.

“Chemo definitely takes a toll on you, mentally and physically. And it’s hard knowing that there’s not a 100% chance that won’t come back,” she said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying to enjoy what I can.”