25-Year-Old Mom of One Diagnosed With Stage 3 Colon Cancer After Symptoms Dismissed As ‘Stomach Bug’ Urges ‘Be Persistent’ When Seeking Help

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chloe Wakelin (@chlo.ostomy)

She also spoke to Kennedy News and Media, according to the The Daily Mail, where she explained how her symptoms began in November 2023, but she initially thought she was experiencing some sort of sickness from either her six-year-old daughter Harper-Ellen or other children she cared for. Her doctors also believed this to be the case.

It wasn’t until December 2023 that the abnormal color of her vomit prompted her to visit the hospital. However, the hospital wasn’t able to do necessary scans, and she returned to the hospital a month later when she learned she had colon cancer and sepsis.

She explained to the news outlet, “I was told that if I didn’t have the surgery, I would have had 12 hours to live because my kidney and my liver were failing.”

Wakelin ultimately had 25cm of her bowel, in addition to lymph nodes, removed as the cancer had spread. She was also given a stoma bag, which collects waste from the body.

Now she’s warning, “You always think you’re too young at 25 because it’s typically a cancer that affects older people. I didn’t have the ‘typical’ symptoms for bowel cancer.

“I’d just like to remind everyone to not be ashamed to go to their GP about any symptoms they may be having, no matter your age. It can affect anyone.”

RELATED: How to Recognize Sneaky Cancer Symptoms — Looking at Cancers That Are Most Often Misdiagnosed

In a celebratory post shared on Instagram this past fall, she wrote, “Long story short, I survived. This time last year is when I began to start showing symptoms of bowel cancer, however it went undiagnosed for weeks and weeks until it came to literally…’life or death.’

“It’s coming close to a year since I had my life saving emergency surgery and I’m feeling so thankful and lucky that I’m still here and making memories and experiences with my loved ones. Never take life for granted.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chloe Wakelin (@chlo.ostomy)

She announced going into remission, following surgery and chemotherapy treatments, on July 2024, writing, “I’m in remission…. Woohoo!!

“However… The question I keep asking myself now… what now? The question ‘what’s going to happen in my life now?’ Has been spiraling around my head since I got the all clear on Monday.”

Wakelin added, “The last 4 month routine on chemotherapy and regular blood tests every 3 weeks have stopped. I don’t see my oncologist anymore (I’ll see him once a year for the next 5 years). Just like that, it’s the end. I’m ecstatic but petrified.

“I know life will never go back to the normal I knew before, it’s going to be a new normal now. I’m still under the genetics team and the colorectal surgeons so hopefully it’ll never get to this stage again.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chloe Wakelin (@chlo.ostomy)

What Is A Stoma Bag?

A stoma bag is used after someone undergoes a colostomy or ileostomy a procedure where part of your intestines are hooked up through the front of your belly.

A colostomy is when the large intestine (colon) is brought through this opening in the skin. An ileostomy, on the other hand, is when a part of the small intestine (ileum) is attached to the skin. These procedures can both be performed as a part of bowel cancer treatment, though they definitely aren’t always necessary.

The stoma bag, also called an ostomy bag, is then attached to your skin to allow you to go to the bathroom.

What Is a Colostomy?

“Any time you have surgery on the intestine you can’t predict how well it’s going to heal,” explained SurvivorNet advisor Dr. Heather Yeo, a surgical oncologist and colorectal surgeon at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. “The majority of the time we can put patients back together, we connect one piece of the intestine back to the other. If we are able to do that successfully, they don’t need to have a colostomy bag.

“That being said, sometimes people get blockages and need emergency surgery and those patients are more likely to need a temporary colostomy bag. Sometimes people have cancers that are too big to take out, and those people may also need a colostomy bag.”

“I Began to Embrace it”: How One Survivor Learned to Live with a Colostomy Bag

A stoma bag might seem like it’d be a nuisance, but many people lead an active and normal life with their bags. A plastic bag acts as a cover so it doesn’t smell, and once it’s full you can simply empty it in the bathroom.

“Once you get over sort of the psychosocial effects, you can lead a totally normal life,” Dr. Daniel Labow, the chief of the Surgical Oncology Division at Mount Sinai, previously told SurvivorNet. “It’s not painful. It’s just getting used to a different way.”

And most patients will have their ostomy reversed two or three months after their cancer operation.

“If we do [an ostomy] for colon cancer, 99 percent of the time almost it’s temporary, could be as short as six to eight weeks, let everything heal, and then reconnect them down below,” Dr. Labow said.

Colon Cancer in Younger Adults

The average age people are diagnosed with colon cancer is 68 for men and 72 for women, according to the American Cancer Society — but the rate at which younger adults are diagnosed has been on the rise. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults aged 45 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer.

The National Cancer Institute reports that since the 1990s, colorectal cancer cases have been rising among adults younger than 50. Research published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians found that the proportion of cases in people younger than 55 “increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019.”

Researchers are still trying to determine why younger people are being diagnosed in more significant numbers. Some experts point to risk factors, which include obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking, as a possible explanation for the increase.

“We don’t know for sure why we are seeing earlier onset and death from colon cancer,” Dr. Heather Yeo, a surgical oncologist who specializes in colorectal cancers at Weill Cornell Medicine, told SurvivorNet. “It is likely a combination of factors, including diet and genetics as well as access to care and some environmental factors.”

Understanding Colon Cancer

Colon or colorectal cancer affects your large intestine (colon) or the end of your intestine (rectum).

The cancer starts when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. If you don’t have these polyps removed, they can sometimes change into cancer. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become full-blown cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts.

Looking for Polyps During Colonoscopy

Most colon cancers can be prevented by regular screening. The screening usually involves a colonoscopy, in which a long, thin tube attached to a camera examines the colon and rectum. If no polyps are discovered, the next screening will not be needed for about 10 years.

“We know that colon cancers can be prevented when polyps are found early,” Dr. Yeo explained. “Lowering the screening age helps somewhat with this, but access to care is a real problem.”

What are Colon Polyps?

A colon polyp is a small group of cells that forms on the colon’s lining.

When you have a colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist looks for polyps inside your intestine. Although polyps can’t be felt, they can be picked up by screening tests before they become cancerous.

Almost all polyps that are removed are precancerous, meaning that they have not yet progressed to cancer.

WATCH: Helping You Understand Colorectal Cancer

A Colonoscopy Explained

A colonoscopy is a procedure doctors use to screen for colon cancer by looking inside your colon.

This procedure requires your colon to be “cleaned out.” To clear out your colon, your doctor will prescribe a “bowel prep,” a liquid you drink the night before the procedure. The prep acts as a laxative that causes you to have multiple loose stools before your procedure.

Once your colon is cleared, the gastroenterologist performing the procedure can have a clear look to evaluate if any polyps or masses are present. Depending on the size and number of polyps found, it may be recommended that patients undergo a repeat colonoscopy within three to five years.

Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon and Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, previously explained the colonoscopy procedure to SurvivorNet.

“When we see a polyp, we actually physically take the polyp out through the colonoscope,” he explained. “What does that mean? That means we basically put a wire through with a little bit of a flange at the end, and we pull the polyp out. Now, note there is no pain with that. Inside the colon, there are no pain fibers. So there’s no pain,” Dr. Murrell added.

The advantage of a colonoscopy is that your doctor can remove any polyps found during the test. Many colon cancers can be caught on colonoscopy before they develop or when the polyps are small enough to be removed without surgery.

What Increases Your Risk for Colon Cancer?

For some people, certain factors can increase their risk of getting colon cancer.

They include the following:

• Age. About 90% of cases are in people aged 50 or older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Yet it is possible to get this cancer earlier in life.
• Inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can, over time, cause cells in your intestines to turn cancerous.
• A family history of this cancer. Just under one-third of people who get colon cancer have family members with the disease.
• A genetic mutation. About 5% of colorectal cancers are caused by an inherited genetic mutation that causes syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome).
• Lack of exercise. Staying active can lower your risk.
• A diet that’s high in meat. Regularly eating red meats like burgers and steaks, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon might put you at higher risk.  Eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead might lower your risk.
• Being overweight or obese. Having too much weight increases your risk of both getting colon cancer and dying from it.
• Alcohol use.  Limiting alcohol to one drink daily for women and two drinks daily for men could help lower your risk.
• Tobacco use. Long-term smokers are more likely to get this cancer than nonsmokers.

Which Treatments are Best for You?

It’s important to understand that your doctor has many ways to treat colon cancer, depending on what stage the cancer is, including:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Targeted therapy
• Immunotherapy

Surgery

Surgery is the main treatment for most early-stage colon cancers, according to the doctors SurvivorNet spoke with. The surgeon will remove the part of the colon or rectum where there is cancer, along with a small area of healthy tissue around it. Taking out as much of the cancer as possible is important for improving your outcome.

The surgery may be performed through small incisions (laparoscopy), or through a larger incision. Some people may need to wear a special bag (ostomy) to collect wastes after surgery.

Deciding When to Operate on Colon Cancer

Radiation Therapy

This treatment aims high-energy x-rays at the cancer to destroy the abnormal cells. The radiation can come from a machine outside your body, or be placed directly inside your body. Sometimes people get radiation before surgery, to shrink the tumor and make it easier for the surgeon to remove. This is called neoadjuvant radiation.

Chemotherapy

This treatment uses strong medicine to stop cancer cells from dividing, no matter where they are in your body. You may get a combination of chemotherapy drugs as your first treatment. Chemotherapy has been very well studied for colorectal cancer, and it is known to improve survival.

The most common therapy is a combination of chemo drugs called FOLFOX:

• FOL = leucovorin calcium (folinic acid)
• F = fluorouracil
• OX = oxaliplatin

Your doctor may add medications like irinotecan (FOLFIRI) or cetuximab, depending on how well your tumor shrinks with treatment and other specifics about your particular cancer. For FOLFOX, the medications are given through the vein and require regular doctor visits.

To determine exactly which chemotherapy regimen you get, your doctor will consider your age and how well you might tolerate the side effects of chemotherapy. Gene mutations (for example, BRAF and KRAS) and the location of the primary colon tumor also factor into the decision.

You can also get chemotherapy before colon cancer surgery, which is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Getting chemo first helps to shrink the tumor, which can make both the surgery and recovery easier, according to SurvivorNet’s experts. Chemo is also a treatment for cancer that returns after therapy.

Targeted Therapy

This treatment targets substances like proteins or genes that the cancer needs to grow. This makes targeted therapy more precise than chemotherapy, and less likely to damage healthy cells. One example of targeted therapy is bevacizumab (Avastin), which stops the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors. Another group of targeted therapies are called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, which block the cancer from growing.

Immunotherapy

This treatment makes your own immune system a more efficient cancer fighter. A group of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, which includes pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo), work by preventing cancer cells from hiding from your immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors may extend the amount of time before the cancer spreads.

Dr. Paul Oberstein, on which treatments doctors use to turn stage 4 colon cancer into a chronic but manageable disease

The Importance of Advocating for Yourself

Standing up for yourself is important. If you feel that you’re being dismissed or mistreated by a doctor. Getting a second opinion is crucial if something doesn’t feel right. Experts tell SurvivorNet that no one knows your body better than you, so if you feel like something is wrong, keep pushing for answers.

Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet that sometimes, patients need to be pushy.

Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don’t Settle

“From a doctor’s perspective, every problem should have a diagnosis, a treatment, a plan for follow-up, and a plan for what happens next if the treatment doesn’t work,” Dr. Murrell said.

And as a patient, “If you don’t feel like each of these four things has been accomplished, just ask! Even if it requires multiple visits or seeing additional providers for a second opinion, always be your own advocate.”

Ultimately, patients advocating for their health can lead to better patient outcomes. This is especially important when you find your doctor has misdiagnosed your symptoms.

A component of advocating for yourself in healthcare includes going back to the doctor multiple times and even getting multiple opinions.

Dr. Steven Rosenberg is the National Cancer Institute Chief of Surgery, and he previously told SurvivorNet about the advantages of getting input from multiple doctors.

Cancer research legend urges patients to get multiple opinions.

“If I had any advice for you following a cancer diagnosis, it would be, first, to seek out multiple opinions as to the best care. Because finding a doctor who is up to the latest of information is important,” Dr. Rosenberg said.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.