Colorectal cancer isn’t supposed to be a young person’s disease. But it increasingly is. The numbers are climbing among adults under 50, and while researchers still can’t fully explain why, one thing is clear: early detection saves lives. The problem? Too many people aren’t catching it early because they either don’t know what to look for or their doctors aren’t taking their symptoms seriously.
HuffPost recently spoke with Dr. Ursina Teitelbaum, a medical oncologist and section chief for gastrointestinal cancers at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, about the mistakes people make when it comes to colon health. Her advice cuts through a lot of the noise around cancer prevention and diagnosis.
Know Your Family History Before It’s Too Late
Here’s something that should alarm you: up to 1 in 3 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer have a family member who also had it. That’s not coincidence. It’s genetics, shared environmental factors, or some combination of both.
The catch is that most people don’t know their family history. They’ve never asked. According to Teitelbaum, you need to have that awkward conversation with your relatives. Ask your parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles whether anyone was ever diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
If you discover a first-degree relative had it, you’ll need to start screening earlier than the standard age recommendation. Teitelbaum put it bluntly: “Your colon health depends on your genes.” You can’t change your DNA, but you can change when and how often you get checked.
Age 45 Is the New Screening Line
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed its screening guidance in 2021, lowering the recommended starting age from 50 to 45. That shift matters because of the alarming spike in colorectal cancer cases among younger adults. Though the disease still affects fewer than 1% of the population, the trend is impossible to ignore.
If you have inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, screening becomes even more critical. These conditions significantly elevate your risk. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: even perfectly healthy people with no family history can develop colorectal cancer. There’s no magic shield.
Teitelbaum’s position is unambiguous on this point: “No matter how healthy your lifestyle is, when you hit a certain age, you need to get screened.” Screening is the best tool we have to catch this cancer early and actually treat it.
Your Symptoms Matter More Than Your Age
One of the most dangerous mistakes younger adults make is assuming their symptoms can’t possibly be cancer. Doctors make the same assumption. A 35-year-old complaining of persistent diarrhea or blood in their stool often doesn’t trigger the same alarm bells as the same symptoms in a 65-year-old, and that gap in suspicion can be deadly.
Teitelbaum has noticed this pattern across the country. Delayed diagnoses lead to worse outcomes. The solution requires taking your body seriously.
Pay attention to changes in your bowel habits. If you’ve always had a predictable schedule and suddenly you’re frequently constipated, that’s worth mentioning to a doctor. Blood in your stool, abdominal pain, unexplained fatigue, or anemia that can’t be explained by anything else are all red flags. Pencil-thin stools are another clue that something might be wrong.
The uncomfortable reality is that sometimes an irregular bowel movement is the only sign something’s amiss. Most people won’t volunteer this information because talking about poop feels embarrassing. But Teitelbaum is clear: “Poop is such a status of your health, and talking about it could save your life.”
Lifestyle Matters, But It’s Not Everything
More than half of colorectal cancers are linked to factors you can actually control. Smoking, heavy drinking, and a sedentary lifestyle all increase your risk. Diet plays a major role too. Red meat and ultra-processed foods like soda and candy have been linked to higher risk, while vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are protective.
This doesn’t mean a salad will save you. Teitelbaum’s perspective is measured here: “There’s no perfect predictor for colon cancer, but globally, a healthy lifestyle may help.” It’s not a guarantee. It’s a contribution. People who do everything “right” still get colorectal cancer.
Advocate for Yourself (Seriously)
If your doctor isn’t taking your symptoms seriously, get a second opinion. Teitelbaum emphasized this point because she knows how often it happens. Young people especially need to push back. If you’re genuinely worried about something, you need to persist. Your instincts about your own body matter.
Breaking the stigma around discussing bowel health openly is part of this too. The more we talk about it, the easier it becomes for both patients and doctors to take symptoms seriously. That conversation might be what stands between early detection and a delayed diagnosis that changes everything.
