A 34-year-old man diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer has revealed the key symptoms he dismissed – in a bid to help others avoid the same fate.
Jo Faratzis first started experiencing problems in 2019, including from time to time “a dull, mild pain” in the lower right side of his abdomen that was “easy to ignore and forget.”
He visited his doctor, who asked about his stool and referred him for scans, but heartbreakingly Mr Faratzis did not go ahead with the tests, admitting: ‘I assumed it wasn’t necessary.’
Six months later he started noticing blood on the toilet paper when he went to the bathroom, but he again claims he “wasn’t too concerned… it was never an alarming amount and it didn’t happen every day.”
Writing in an American health publication YourselfMr Faratzis says: ‘As a 28-year-old man I thought I was invincible so I didn’t do anything about it.’
Another two months passed before he sought medical attention after he started bleeding heavily – and after a colonoscopy revealed the shocking diagnosis of cancer.
His treatment is currently keeping the disease at bay, but one in 10 patients with advanced bowel cancer of the type Mr Feratzis has has lived for more than five years.
He is now sharing his story TikTok to raise awareness, adding, “I sometimes kick myself when I think back to that first doctor’s appointment, and what I could have, could have, should have done.”
Jo Faratzis first started experiencing problems in 2019, including from time to time “a dull, mild pain” in the lower right side of his abdomen that was “easy to ignore and forget”
He visited his doctor, who asked about his bowel movements and referred him for scans, but heartbreakingly Mr Faratzis did not go ahead with the tests, admitting: ‘I assumed it wasn’t necessary’
Six months later he started noticing blood on the toilet paper when he went to the bathroom, but again claims he “wasn’t too concerned… it was never an alarming amount and it didn’t happen every day.”
Mr Feratzis also admits that part of his reluctance to have further bowel testing had to do with the fact that ‘I didn’t want to just run to the doctor for a digital rectal exam.
“That whole situation, where the doctor sticks a gloved finger in and around your rectum, seemed awkward and embarrassing.”
After his diagnosis, things would get worse. The cancer was confined to the intestines when he was initially picked up, but after surgery it “exploded” throughout his body within the first few months of treatment.
Tumors appeared in his lungs and liver, after which the disease is called stage four and considered incurable.
After undergoing more treatments, including further surgeries in 2021 and 2022, he is currently cancer-free – but if and when the disease will return is unknown.
“I’ve probably had nine or 10 lung surgeries that worked, but along the way they also led to some not-so-fun complications, like a collapsed lung,” Mr. Feratzis wrote.
“I asked my doctor if I was going to die… I was never given a prognosis or survival rate for what I’m going through.
‘Even if you have stage IV cancer, there is a chance that you can live a very long time if you can detect tumors early and have them removed.
Writing in the US health publication Self, Mr Faratzis said: ‘As a 28-year-old man I thought I was invincible so I didn’t do anything about it’
He is now sharing his story on TikTok to raise awareness, adding: ‘I sometimes kick myself when I think back to that first doctor’s appointment, and what I could have, could have, should have done’
‘This is not always the case, but fortunately my doctors have been able to surgically remove all the malignant lesions that have emerged so far.’
He is now in a ‘never-ending cycle’ of tests. Mr Feratzis added: ‘I’ve had clear scans in the last year – it’s the longest stretch I’ve gone without lesions.
I feel good, I am hopeful and I live my life as if there is no problem. I sometimes kick myself when I think back to that first doctor’s appointment, and what I could have done, could have done, should have done.”
He advises others facing similar symptoms, adding: ‘Listen to your body. If you think something is wrong, it doesn’t hurt to have it checked.
‘If I hadn’t waited – if I had gotten the CT scan in 2019 when I had my first symptoms of colorectal cancer – I might not have ended up in the position I am in now.’
Mr Feratzi’s worrying story comes amid an explosion of colon and other cancers in younger patients, stunning doctors around the world.
Recent data show that the disease in this age group has increased by 50 percent over the past thirty years.
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The vast majority of colon cancer cases still affect people over the age of 50.
But disease in older groups has declined or remained stable, while diagnoses in younger people have increased.
Earlier this year, American actor James Van Der Beek, star of the 1990s drama Dawson’s Creek, revealed he had been diagnosed at just 47 years old.
In 2022, BBC presenter and campaigner Dame Deborah James succumbed to the disease aged just 40.
While some experts believe the explanation lies in rising obesity, which affects the digestive system, others suggest that overuse of antibiotics, cell phone radiation and even invisible plastic particles in drinking water could be to blame.
A growing number of experts point to one major cause: ultra-processed foods.
These are also known as UPFs. These are prepared foods – including bread, cereal and even salad dressing – made with artificial ingredients used to preserve flavor, add flavor and improve texture.
Some have even gone so far as to say they can be as dangerous as tobacco – and should come with a cigarette-style health warning.
Colon cancer in older groups has decreased or remained stable, while diagnoses in younger people have increased.
Recent data shows that the disease in this age group has increased by 50 percent over the past thirty years
The main symptoms of colon cancer are the same for all ages: Changes in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or both.
A change in the frequency of bowel movements or the feeling that you have to go, even though you have just gone.
Blood in the stool or toilet or bleeding from the rectum are also telltale signs.
Unexplained weight loss, fatigue, feeling bloated or full even when little has been eaten, and changes in appetite are also observed.
Anyone suffering from these symptoms should see their GP and may be referred to a colorectal clinic for further assessment.
Commenting on Mr Feratzis’ case on Instagram, NHS surgeon Dr Karan Rajan said in a post that has been viewed more than 500,000 times in recent days that those concerned about whether their symptoms are a sign of bowel cancer, three important rules to follow.
‘First, if you experience new symptoms – if you have chronic symptoms, for example if you have had diarrhea for years, you are less likely to indicate colorectal cancer.
‘But if you experience diarrhea for a few weeks, which is a change from your normal bowel movements, that is a trigger for getting investigated.
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‘Number two, if you have a combination of three or more of these symptoms – diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain and anemia – you have a six and a half times greater risk of colorectal cancer than someone who has none of these symptoms. symptoms.
”Number three: look for a change in symptoms. For example, if you have had bright red rectal bleeding for years, you have been examined and had a colonoscopy and have been diagnosed with hemorrhoids.
‘Now you have bleeding that has changed color from bright red to dark red or maroon.
‘You should not assume that the bleeding is still due to haemorrhoids because there has been a change in the nature and nature of the bleeding that warrants further investigation.’