HEALTH: AS COLORECTAL CANCER RISES AMONG YOUNGER ADULTS, SOME SEEK COLONOSCOPIES EARLIER

By Jacqueline Howard and Kyla Russell, CNN/StyleMagazine.com Newswire

symptoms can include a change in bowel habits, blood in the stool, abdominal pain and unexpected weight loss.

Arminio had blood in her stool and constipation. She immediately talked to her doctor about a colonoscopy, although she worried that she might meet some resistance because she was 33.

She was ready to be her own advocate, she said, and to fight for a colonoscopy. To her surprise, Arminio’s doctor agreed that she needed one.

“I was really lucky,” she said. “My doctor, after asking me a myriad of questions, was like, ‘We’re going to get you a colonoscopy,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you.’ “ the microbiomes of the younger patients versus the older patients, which they wrote, warrants “larger, prospective studies to elucidate the role the intratumoral microbiome plays” in developing cancer.

As the search for answers continues, some younger adults in the United States have sought colorectal cancer screenings at a time when the disease is on the rise for their age group. But there is also concern that this trend could lead to the overuse of colonoscopies.

‘I was really lucky’

As the email marketing coordinator for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, Francesca Arminio, based in Washington, DC, knew the effects this disease was having on people around her age.

Last year, when she started having symptoms that are common in people with colorectal cancer, she began tracking her experience. Such

During her 30- to 45-minute procedure, the medical team found three polyps, one of which was concerning and classified as “aggressive,” Arminio said, adding that it could have developed into cancer within the next few years. The polyps were removed, and she recovered quickly.

Arminio plans to get a colonoscopy every three years. Read