Amishi Shah, a colorectal cancer survivor, has become a passionate advocate for early cancer screening and prevention after her own battle with the disease.
At 49 years old, she experienced rectal bleeding, a common but potentially alarming symptom of colorectal cancer. When she finally sought medical attention, she was diagnosed with stage 3b rectal cancer, which led to significant medical treatment and permanent physical changes.
"It can save your life if you get screened early," Shah emphasized. "90% of patients can survive if they're caught early, but I was part of that 80% of patients who don't get screened."
Shah's journey has motivated her to raise awareness and encourage others to prioritize colorectal cancer screenings.
"I try to tell as many people as I can and raise awareness," she stated. "At least a dozen of my friends and family have gotten colonoscopies after they heard about my case. You are not alone in this journey. There is a buddy program for patients and caregivers. There are a lot of very useful resources at colorectalcancer.org."
Dr. Cedrek McFadden, an expert on colorectal cancer, echoed the significance of early detection.
"It's important that we don't wait till there are symptoms. We want people to be screened. We can find these much easier to treat cancers or these pre-cancer polyps," Dr. McFadden said.
Additionally, the age for recommended screenings has recently been lowered from 50 to 45, acknowledging the growing number of younger patients being affected by the disease.
"We were seeing patients coming in that were too young," stated Dr. McFadden. "If you find symptoms, get tested."
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