In 2018, Casandra Costley, then 32, seen rectal bleeding. However, she thought it was a hemorrhoid and by no means thought to inform her physician.
“I ignored it. I had some rectal ache as nicely, which I additionally thought was a hemorrhoid,” Costley, 38, of Utah, tells TODAY.com. “It will come and go.”
Then, in February 2024, Costley felt “run down,” misplaced her urge for food and noticed that her bowel habits modified. Slowly, her new rest room habits dramatically impacted her participation in day-to-day life.
Previous to being recognized with Stage 4 colon most cancers, Casandra Costley labored as a journey advisor, serving to folks ebook journeys.
“I struggled to operate,” she says. She ultimately visited a gastroenterologist, who carried out a colonoscopy, and he or she realized she had Stage 4 colon most cancers. Since her prognosis, she’s been sharing her experiences on social media.
“It’s not one thing that persons are actually snug speaking about nonetheless, bleeding and bowel habits,” she says. “(That) means it doesn’t get talked about, and so I believed I can do this. It’s not arduous for me to speak about it.”
Rectal bleeding
When Costley first seen rectal bleeding, she assumed it was a hemorrhoid, as they run in her household.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh, identical to the remainder of my household,’” she says.
Through the years, the bleeding and ache occurred intermittently, what Costley thought was regular. Final yr, she underwent weight reduction surgical procedure and adjusted her eating regimen, and her signs disappeared.
“I believed, ‘Oh, possibly the hemorrhoid healed itself,’” she recollects. “I didn’t know an excessive amount of about it.”
However then the bleeding returned with new signs. Quickly, Costley misplaced her urge for food, and her bowel habits modified.
“All day lengthy I felt like I needed to have a bowel motion,” she says. “It was exhausting and actually bizarre, and for some purpose I nonetheless didn’t carry it up (to my physician).”
When her signs interfered along with her day by day routine to the purpose the place she struggled to get via the day, she requested her urologist to suggest a GI physician. That physician ordered a colonoscopy, and when Costley woke from it, she knew one thing was flawed.
“He confirmed me the image of my tumor,” she says. “He was like, ‘I’m very involved that this seems to be like superior colon most cancers, however let’s get a biopsy.’”
She had by no means thought-about her bleeding and ache might be most cancers.
“I believed he was going to inform me I had hemorrhoids or IBS or one thing,” she says. “(Colorectal most cancers) continues to be not on most individuals’s radars.”
The physician additionally scheduled a CT scan and an MRI. Three days after the biopsy, Costley knew what sort most cancers she had — invasive adenocarcinoma, which is the commonest sort of colon and rectal most cancers, in line with the American Most cancers Society. The CT scan revealed the most cancers had metastasized to her liver and probably her lung.
Quickly, she met with a GI surgeon.
“I used to be pondering, ‘Properly, they only must go in and take it out,’” Costley recollects. “Once I met the GI surgeon, she defined that the tumor is a T3, which is essentially the most superior sort, as a result of it’s grown via the colon … (and) to go in and take it out can be harmful as a result of they will’t get clear margins.”
As a substitute, the surgeon really helpful Costley meet with an oncologist, who really helpful “aggressive chemo” for 3 months.
After this, she’ll bear scans to see if it is working, and docs will add to her remedy plan.
“If I reply to it and we are able to get the tumors to shrink down, then they might probably go in and take out the tumor in my colon,” she says.
The Costley household has been utilizing humor as a manner to deal with Casandra Costley’s Stage 4 colon most cancers prognosis. Daughter Annika prays to “bless mother’s butt.”
She’s felt intense unwanted effects from chemotherapy after only some rounds of it.
“The chemo makes me fairly sick,” she says. “As a result of I’m symptomatic from the most cancers, it takes any signs I used to be having and makes them manner worse.”
Typically, she feels pangs in her liver, again and hip, and the nausea and lack of urge for food has change into “extra intense.” Nonetheless, when she feels nicely, she tries to train, and feeling ailing hasn’t interfered along with her skill to mother or father.
“I really feel grateful. I’ve been capable of get off the bed daily and nonetheless (attempt) to get my daughter to highschool on my own once I can,” she says. “I like to do this, nevertheless it’s arduous.”
Costley and her household usually make jokes and attempt to discover the humor and pleasure in life. Her virtually 12-year-old daughter, Annika, says in her nightly prayers, “Please bless mother’s butt.”
“It makes us snort, nevertheless it additionally brings her consolation, and so we’re utilizing humor to manage,” Costley says. “We perceive the severity of it. It’s too heavy to not snort about it.”
Colon most cancers in younger folks
Colon most cancers is the second-leading reason for most cancers deaths in girls beneath age 50, TODAY.com beforehand reported. Consultants stay unsure as to why one of these most cancers has been occurring extra usually in younger folks however suspect it’s a mixture of genetics and life-style components, similar to being sedentary and a eating regimen with too many processed meals.
“It’s a minimum of doable that these are the issues driving this. We do see extra males than girls having colorectal most cancers,” Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer for the American Most cancers Society, instructed TODAY.com in 2023. “Whether or not that’s once more as a consequence of a poor eating regimen or weight problems and fewer train is a minimum of a chance.”
As with all sort of most cancers, early detection results in higher outcomes. Recognizing the signs and speaking to a health care provider about them can result in faster prognosis.
Signs embody:
Stomach ache with no purpose
Casandra Costley says that too many individuals are afraid to speak about signs of colon most cancers, similar to rectal bleeding, ache and elevated bowel motion frequency. She would not really feel such disgrace so she shares her story on social media to assist others.
“Sufferers don’t essentially carry up the signs,” Dr. David Liska, director of the Younger-Onset Colorectal Most cancers Heart at Cleveland Clinic instructed TODAY.com in 2023. “It’s a subject that individuals aren’t snug speaking about.”
‘A membership you do not wish to belong to’
When Costley goes to the infusion heart for chemotherapy, she’s usually the youngest particular person there, which may really feel very isolating. Sharing her story on social media has linked her with different younger folks with most cancers.
“It’s a membership that you simply don’t wish to belong to, the most cancers membership,” she says. “However it’s a extremely, actually supportive neighborhood and … there are such a lot of folks serving to me to grasp what I’m going via.”
Costley additionally appreciates listening to from individuals who have lived with Stage 4 colon most cancers for a very long time.
“These are my favourite tales as a result of I’ve a lot hope that I’ll get to do this, too,” she says. “Their tales give me hope and provides me much more purpose to struggle.”
Since her prognosis, Costley has found “how treasured life actually is.”
“I’m an essential a part of our treasured life in our house, and I’m not saying that to be immodest,” she says. “It’s helped me notice our complete home of playing cards will crumble if one thing occurs to me. So I simply wish to struggle arduous to have the ability to say and be an essential a part of my little household.”
Having “the world’s most supportive husband,” mother and father, siblings, step mother and father and step siblings signifies that Costley enjoys an enormous help system as she continues her most cancers remedies.
She hopes that by sharing her journey on social media she is going to assist others be taught extra about colon most cancers and discover hope when dealing with a worrisome prognosis.
Having the help of her household helps Casandra Costley as she grapples with Stage 4 colon most cancers and remedy.
“I hope that anybody who might be in the identical boat learns that these are signs to go to your physician and discuss and in addition not be afraid to speak about it,” she says. “Life is so treasured and so fragile and even in a extremely, actually scary, arduous time, there’s nonetheless a lot magnificence to be discovered and happiness available.”
This text was initially revealed on TODAY.com