Michael Sapienza, Chief Executive Officer of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, shared on LinkedIn:
“‘Rectal bleeding is not normal in anybody.’
That’s a line from The Cancer Letter cover story on early-onset colorectal cancer, and it’s one I say often, because it’s still not getting through.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men and women under 50. Colorectal Cancer Alliance Never Too Young Taskforce member Jenna Scott, whose story anchors this piece, spent months being told her symptoms were pregnancy-related. By the time she was diagnosed, she had stage IV colon cancer. Her experience isn’t rare. Many patients see two or three physicians before getting the right diagnosis, often after being told they’re “too young” or that it’s hemorrhoids.
I don’t want anyone to panic every time they see blood in their stool, but I do want people to be their own advocates, and I want physicians to take these symptoms seriously the first time, not the third.
Here’s the harder truth in this piece: we don’t yet fully understand why early-onset CRC is behaving like a biologically distinct disease. Screening guidelines were expanded several years ago, and that matters, but screening alone won’t solve a problem we don’t yet understand at the biological level. That’s why, as I share in the article, the Alliance is investing in Project Cure CRC and research, including a microbiome database and a new adaptive clinical trial platform, to get real answers and better treatments, not just earlier detection.
Symptoms lasting more than three weeks including rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, and/or abdominal cramping deserve a real workup – regardless of age. regardless of pregnancy. regardless of how healthy you look on paper.
Read the full powerful piece from Claire Marie Porter”
Read also “Highlights of ESMO GI 2026 in Colorectal Cancer with Davide Ciardiello” on OncoDaily.
