Jo Henderson was 17 when she was diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer.It came after months of symptoms — stomach pain, bloating, constipation — and months of testing.“I was expecting a gluten allergy, lactose intolerance,” said Henderson, now 18, of Seekonk, Massachusetts.
“Literally anything but cancer.”Colorectal cancer in people younger than 20 is exceptionally rare: People like Henderson are about one in a million, and account for fewer than 100 cases per year in the United States.But a new study found that most cases of colorectal cancer in kids and teenagers are aggressive, and often diagnosed at advanced stages.
The findings show that “the adolescent and the youngest of the young adults are at particular risk for bad outcomes and are a unique and vulnerable population even compared to people in their 30s and 40s,” said Dr.Danielle Cameron, the director of pediatric surgical oncology at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute in Boston, who worked on the study.Jo Henderson's first day of chemotherapy in January.Courtesy Jo Henderson“They are at higher risks for more aggressive types of colorectal cancers and more opportunities for diagnostic delays,” she said.Cameron stressed that cases in adolescents and very young adults are “still very, very rare.” But anecdotally, experts say they are seeing rates begin to tick up.
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