Understanding Colon Cancer
- At 83, Days of Our Lives star Suzanne Rogers is back on the long-running soap opera as Maggie Horton Kiriakis after battling stage 2 colon cancer.
- Before reaching remission, Rogers underwent chemotherapy and six weeks of daily radiation after her diagnosis. Fans have celebrated her comeback, calling her return “amazing.”
- Colon cancer is highly treatable and curable when detected early. Screening options include at-home tests like Cologuard, though medical experts recommend a colonoscopy for more effective detection.
- Colorectal screenings are generally advised starting at age 45, but individuals with higher risk factors, such as a family history of colon cancer, may need earlier testing. Consulting a doctor about screening options is recommended.
- If you have a colon cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.
Now in remission, Rogers is entering a new chapter as she returns to Salem, the fictional town where she has played Maggie since 1973.
Read MoreAfter battling stage II colorectal cancer and being in remission, Suzanne is back.
Suzanne Rogers Returns to ‘Days of Our Lives’ in All-New Episodes – @DaysPeacock #suzannerogers #maggiekiriakisGet the details and let us know, will you be happy to see Maggie back on the… pic.twitter.com/E5JyvsRVS3
— MIchael Fairman (@MichaelFairman) August 31, 2026
Rogers, recognized as the longest-serving actress in American soap opera history, told People last year at Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary Celebration” that she was doing “much better” after enduring a “rough summer.”
She explained, “I had cancer removed and radiation; that was tough. But I didn’t lose my hair. I guess I got it early. I was stage two, and it was a certain kind of chemo that they gave me, it was pills and the radiation, and it didn’t affect it, so that was good.”
In a previous interview with TV Insider, Rogers opened up about her cancer treatment, revealing that she underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments daily for six weeks. Her treatment began June 16 and wrapped up July 31.
Rogers Had Felt ‘Off,’ Prompting a Doctor’s Visit
Rogers first felt “off” during the summer of 2025, prompting her to visit her doctor. After having a colonoscopy done, an exam she had done regularly, a surgeon advised her to get an MRI, a PET scan, and a biopsy.
Following the additional testing, Rogers recalls her doctor telling her, “You have cancer and you have to start treatment,” something which came as a shock to her.”
Suzanne Rogers (Maggie) is back to Days.https://t.co/YRelzNWK5P#DaysOfOurLives #DOOL #Days pic.twitter.com/XuEJvdjEID
— Soaps Spoilers (Chrissi) 🇨🇦🇨🇦 (@SoapsSpoilers) August 31, 2026
She added, “I think I was in shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself. But he [the doctor] said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.'”
Privacy to ‘Chill’ and Heal
Rogers also noted how the show’s customary six-week summer break allowed her the privacy she needed to keep her diagnosis out of the public eye.
“I was able to keep it under wraps, and then the show took that break, so it wasn’t necessary to get into it all then. It helped me because it gave me even more time to chill and to get myself healthy,” she said.
At the time, she made clear that she had no plans to step away from the beloved show. Since the soap film’s episodes aired nearly a year before, viewers wouldn’t have noticed her absence until this year.
Following the conclusion of her treatment, Rogers told TV Insider, “I’m feeling really good. I start back to work next week, so we’ll see how that goes.
“Now, I’m feeling anxious like I do any time I get scripts because I want to do my very best and you don’t want to hold up anybody. So that’s the only anxiousness I feel. It’s not because of my illness, let’s put it that way.”
Noting how she hadn’t lost hair while taking chemo pills, she added, “I’m sure there’ll be people that are saying, ‘Well, she didn’t really have cancer,’ but you know what? I really don’t care what people say.
“I know what I’ve gone through and I’ve come out on the other side, so that’s all I care about.”
She concluded, “It’s so funny because I used to worry about some silly things, and when you go through this, it kind of takes you a while to say, ‘OK, well, this is what I have, and I will do my very best to fight it and to get through it.’ And that’s what I did.
“The prayers and the good wishes from my friends and my family helped me stay positive and stay on top of it and beat this.”
Understanding & Treating Colorectal Cancer
Colon cancer is a type of cancer that affects your large intestine (colon) or the end of your intestine (rectum). Your doctor might call this type of cancer colorectal cancer.
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 a full-blown cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts. If you get the recommended screenings, your doctor will have time to remove any polyps that form before they can cause problems.
While experts don’t know exactly what causes colon cancer, they do point to certain risk factors, such as diet, smoking tobacco, and drinking alcohol. Having a family history of colorectal cancer can also increase the risk.
Expert Colon Cancer Resources
Both men and women can get colon cancer. Overall, it is the third most common cancer in people of both genders in the United States. But it’s also highly preventable with recommended screenings.
Dr. Heather Yeo, colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, wants to remind people how far the treatment of this disease has come.
“One of the most exciting things about my job is that we’ve made a lot of progress on treatment options,” Dr. Yeo said in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. “However … while they’re living longer, [patients] are still living with colon cancer.”
She explained that patients with stage I to III colon cancer typically need to undergo surgery.
Choosing the Right Surgery for Your Colon Cancer While Avoiding Marketing Gimmicks
Rogers’ Surgery for Colon Cancer: What Is a Partial Colectomy?
During surgery, the surgeon removes the section of the colon with the cancer, along with nearby lymph nodes — a procedure that’s known as a partial colectomy. Surgeons can perform it through an open incision, but increasingly it’s being done laparoscopically through several small incisions using specialized tools. Surgery is followed by chemotherapy to get rid of any cancer cells that might have been left behind.
Related: The Type of Colon Surgery Depends on the Location of the Tumor
After a partial colectomy, surgeons typically reconnect the two ends of the colon. But in some cases, the surgery creates enough of a disruption in the colon that it becomes difficult to have a normal bowel movement afterward. In that case, the surgeon will perform a procedure called a colostomy, creating a temporary or permanent opening through the belly through which stool can exit the body. Waste collects in a pouch worn on the outside of the abdomen, called an ostomy bag.
“A colostomy, or an ostomy, is taking the bowel and attaching it to the skin so the bowel movement would go into a bag, rather than out the anus and rectum,” Dr. Daniel Labow, chief of surgical oncology at Mount Sinai Health System, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
Colostomy sounds much worse than it is. “Once you get over the psychosocial effects, you can lead a totally normal life,” Dr. Labow says. “It’s not painful. It’s just getting used to a different way.”
A Spike in Colon Cancer Cases in Young Adults
The average age at which people are diagnosed with colon cancer is 68 for men and 72 for women, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, 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.”
“We know rates are increasing in young people, but it’s alarming to see how rapidly the whole patient population is shifting younger, despite shrinking numbers in the overall population,” cancer epidemiologist and lead study author Rebecca Siegel said.
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. Yeo explained.
“It is likely a combination of factors, including diet and genetics as well as access to care and some environmental factors.”
WATCH: How Doctors Look for Polyps.
Most colon cancers can be prevented if people are regularly screened. The screening usually involves a colonoscopy, in which a long, thin tube attached to a camera is used to examine the colon and rectum. If no polyps are discovered, the following screening won’t be needed for ten years.
“We know that colon cancers can be prevented when polyps are found early,” Dr. Yeo told SurvivorNet. “Lowering the screening age helps somewhat with this, but access to care is a real problem,” Yeo added.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended initial age for a colorectal screening from 50 to 45 in 2021.
The American Cancer Society had recommended the same change in 2018. Since then, the American Gastroenterological Association and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer have also supported lowering the recommended starting age.
Colon Cancer Can Progress Before You Notice Anything Is Wrong
Dr. Yeo previously told SurvivorNet, “Colon cancer is considered a silent and deadly killer. What happens is people often don’t know that they have colon cancer. They don’t have any symptoms. That’s why we screen for colon cancer in the United States.”
RELATED: How Does a Colon Polyp Turn Into Cancer?
“You should be screened for colon cancer, even if you have no family history. Once you have your initial screening colonoscopy, if there are no polyps and you have no high-risk factors, usually once every 10 years is fine,” she advises.
“Colon cancer is a slowly progressing cancer. If you have any family history of colon cancer, you should be screened about 10 years before your family member had colon cancer. So if you have a family member who was 53, you should be screened at 43.”
Dr. Paul Oberstein Explains Common Colon Cancer Symptoms
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 waste after surgery.
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 intravenously (directly 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 is 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 time before cancer spreads.
Dr. Paul Oberstein, on which treatments doctors use to turn stage 4 colon cancer into a chronic but manageable disease
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
If you have a cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.
WATCH: How One Cancer Survivor and Her Sister Used “My Health Questions” to Navigate Care
This powerful resource is embedded throughout the SurvivorNet website and delivers structured responses grounded in clinical guidelines and medically reviewed research to help people better understand their treatment options and feel more confident navigating care.
My Health Questions can also help patients prepare useful questions ahead of their next appointment.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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