A 31-year-old mother has opened up about how she was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer after initially chalking up her symptoms to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and stress.
Bri Mahon, who lives in Newport Beach, California, with her husband, Blake, and their twins, Banks and Brooks, has been documenting her cancer journey on TikTok, where she has more than 88,000 followers.
She recently went viral after detailing the colon cancer symptoms that she initially shrugged off, explaining that she had digestive issues for years that she thought were due to IBS.
Mahon said she had done blood tests, but nothing concerning came up. She was mostly just irritated and bloated. However, two years ago, she noticed a sharp increase in her anxiety and fatigue.
Bri Mahon, 31, from Newport Beach, California, went viral on TikTok after detailing the symptoms that led to her being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer
Mahon and her husband, Blake, welcomed premature twins, Banks and Brooks, last September. She initially thought the blood in her stools was from her pregnancy
‘I was having panic attacks, and I think it’s just because my body was really, really, really tired and going through whatever it’s going through, growing a tumor,’ she explained.
Last September, Mahon went into labor at 23 weeks and gave birth to premature twins, who spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
She started noticing blood in her stool shortly after, but she thought it was a combination of hemorrhoids from pregnancy and her IBS symptoms flaring up.
‘I wasn’t even really thinking about what I was really going through,’ she recalled. ‘I thought it was stress. I thought it was depression. I thought it was anxiety, kind of all these things coming up again. My fatigue was really bad, but, again, I justified it in my head as my boys are in the NICU.’
Mahon started to see blood in her stools more regularly and became even more concerned when the color turned from red to dark red.
‘My urgency to go to the bathroom was kind of out of control,’ she said. ‘I would either be insanely constipated or I’d be going to the bathroom and just dark blood would be coming out.’
Mahon knew something was wrong, and her doctor referred her to a gastroenterologist, who immediately scheduled a colonoscopy.
The specialist did 10 biopsies during the colonoscopy, and she was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Mahone explained that she had digestive issues for years and thought she had irritable bowl syndrome (IBS). She saw a specialist after the blood in her stools became more frequent
Mahon answered questions about her diagnosis in a series of follow-up videos
The mother of two’s video has been viewed more than 1.9 million times and has received hundreds of comments
Colorectal cancer is the third most common type in the U.S. and the third leading cause of death of both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society.
The rate of new cases among Americans younger than 55 years old has increased from 11 percent in 1995 to 20 percent in 2019.
Early warning signs include blood in feces, abdominal pain, and unintended weight loss. However, these are often missed in younger age groups, with doctors instead believing they are signs of another illness.
Mahon began the first of two rounds of chemotherapy and radiation this week. She also underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) prior to the treatments, which will affect her fertility.
She told BuzzFeed News that once her chemo and radiation are completed, she will have surgery to remove the remaining part of the tumor.
‘I think the most shocking thing about my diagnosis is that I would have never guessed it was cancer,’ she told the outlet. ‘Sure, I felt off in a way where I wanted to get checked out, but I originally assumed I had IBS and nothing concerning.
Mahone has been documenting her cancer journey on Instagram and TikTok, where she has a combined total of more than 224,000 followers
Mahon underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) prior to her cancer treatments because they will affect her fertility
Mahon began the first of two rounds of chemotherapy and radiation this week
‘Every time I’ve thought of cancer, I did not image an active, incredibly healthy 31-year-old with energy. It still feels very surreal to me to have my diagnosis.’
Mahon’s video detailing her symptoms has been viewed more than 1.9 million times since it was posted on May 24.
Hundreds of people took to the comments to offer words of encouragement and share their own cancer stories. Others asked questions about her diagnosis, some of which she addressed in a series of follow-up videos.
‘I had colon cancer stage 3 at 25,’ one person responded. ‘I’m cancer free today at 35. Your gonna be ok! U got this!’
‘I had stage 3 colon cancer 6 years ago…I’m 100% cancer free!!’ another added. ‘You will do great!! I had almost the exact same symptoms. I have twins also!!’
‘My bf had stage 3B colon cancer at age 25,’ someone else shared. Now he’s about to be 31. Colon cancer is becoming so so common.’
COLORECTAL CANCER: WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS?
Colorectal cancer is a disease in which cells in the colon or rectum grow out of control. Tumors sometimes develop from abnormal growths called polyps.
Sometimes called colon cancer, for short, it is the third most common type in the U.S. and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women.
The rate of new colorectal cases among Americans younger than 55 years old has increased from 11 percent in 1995 to 20 percent in 2019.
Symptoms include:
- A change in bowel habits
- Blood in or on your stool
- Diarrhea, constipation, or feeling that the bowel does not empty all the way
- Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
- Cramping or abdominal pain
- Weakness and fatigue
- Unintended weight loss
The risk of getting colorectal cancer increases as you get older, but cases in younger adults have spiked over the years.
Other risk factors include:
- Having a family history of the condition
- Having a personal history of polyps
- Having an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease
- Leading an unhealthy lifestyle
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS)
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