I fast, juice cleanse and exercise – so why have I been diagnosed with killer colon cancer?

A New York City nightlife expert beloved by everyone from Celine Dion to Selena Gomez has revealed his shock diagnosis of colon cancer at the age of 54.

Desta, who goes by his first name only, has worked in the fashion and entertainment industries for more than three decades but told DailyMail.com that maintaining his health was his top priority.

His diet consisted of several juices and one hearty meal a day, this website tells us: ‘I usually ate one meal a day, towards the end of the day, and when I woke up in the morning I would always have a fresh juice from a organic shop with vegetables, turmeric and ginger.’

The illustrious party planner, events manager and PR consultant, who ran the exclusive Chapel Bar, said his only ‘bad guilty pleasure was eating a heavy meal late at night with a glass of wine.’

But because he otherwise led a healthy lifestyle and has no family history of cancer, Desta was shocked when doctors told him in September that he had stage 3 colon cancer.

However, looking back on this lifestyle, he believes his nightly bites and alcohol consumption may have been a contributing factor to his illness.

The native Ethiopian said: “My late night meals were pasta or rice with red wine. I feel like that was the trigger.”

And a study published earlier this year could support Desta’s theory. The researchers found that eating within three hours of going to bed, at least four days a week, could increase the chance of developing colorectal cancer.

Researchers at Rush University Medical College in Chicago surveyed 664 people who got a colonoscopy to screen for cancer, and 42 percent said they were late eaters.

This group was 46 percent more likely than non-late eaters to develop an adenoma – a small, benign lesion – during their colonoscopy.

An adenoma itself is not cancer, but an estimated five to ten percent of it becomes cancerous over time

While Desta consumed mainly fruits and vegetables during the day, he turned to carbohydrates and alcohol at night.

He said: ‘At lunch I drank another shake, but with more ingredients in it, my favorite additions being kefir milk, blueberries, papaya or mango, and some salt.’

Taking it a step further, twice a week he supplemented the green juice with a detox juice containing carrots, beets, celery, apples, turmeric and ginger, and took a cocktail of vitamin tablets – ‘usually C, D and B’ . ‘ – and glutathione to promote healthy liver function.

But then he enjoyed meals of pasta, rice and wine after going out: ‘These high-carb meals are pure sugar and I would eat them very late at night after leaving the bars and clubs.’

Dr. Suneel Kamath, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told DailyMail.com in Desta’s case that the alcohol could have contributed to his cancer, but the “myth” that sugar causes cancer is “100 percent a myth.” .. ‘Pasta was not an issue at all in this case.’

Dr. However, Kamath added: ‘I agree that wine definitely increases the risk of colon cancer, among many other types of cancer.

‘The alcohol in wine breaks down into oxidants (the most talked about in the media is acetaldehyde), which can damage the DNA in cells and cause them to mutate into cancer cells.

‘Although it was once thought that one glass of wine a day was beneficial for heart health, in reality alcohol, including wine, is not beneficial for heart health and also increases the risk of developing many types of cancer , including colon cancer. , breast, esophageal, stomach, throat/tongue cancer and liver cancer.

‘It doesn’t really matter what type of alcoholic drink – beer versus spirits versus wine – they are all equally carcinogenic if an equivalent amount of alcohol is consumed.’

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people consume alcohol “in moderation,” with women advised to consume no more than one drink per day or seven drinks per week, and for men the allowance is doubled.

Desta said the first sign of colon cancer was a change in his bowel habits this spring, a common symptom experienced by colon cancer patients but often misdiagnosed, delaying crucial treatment.

At first he thought they were his daily juices, so he cut them out.

The illustrious party player, who recently managed the now defunct club Chapel Bar, said his only ‘bad guilty pleasure was eating a heavy meal late at night with a glass of wine’.

But when his symptoms did not subside, he visited a doctor for a check-up.

Commenting on the series of events, he said: ‘A few months before June I started to feel like something wasn’t quite right and I was having very strange bowel movements.

‘It wasn’t really diarrhea, but my stomach was going all over the place. I’m very in tune with my body and how I feel, so I knew for a long time that something was wrong.

‘I thought it might be my juices, so I stopped taking it, but my bowel movements didn’t really change much… it was quite chaotic.

‘But the bowel movements came and went and there was no pain or anything. I made sure I was very vigilant about what came out of me.”

His doctor ordered blood tests and said there was nothing wrong except that he had low vitamin D and his cholesterol was high.

However, these subtle signs were an indicator of a larger problem.

Epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency increases the incidence of colon cancer, and there is a possible link between high cholesterol levels and increased risk.

Because his mother and aunt were very ill in Ethiopia, Desta left New York for the summer thinking his health was fine, but while he was away his condition worsened and he noticed blood in his stool.

Desta booked a flight back to Manhattan and immediately went for a colonoscopy – the standard screening for colon cancer.

Doctors discovered two cancerous growths in his colon and diagnosed him with stage III cancer.

Instead of removing the mass, doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center decided to put Desta on a treatment plan that included chemotherapy for three months.

A prominent figure in the New York social scene, Desta said it was impossible to hide his cancer and that his black palms from chemotherapy were a clear sign that something was wrong, as was his lack of energy.

Since revealing his battle with cancer, Desta says he has been “shocked by the outpouring of love” from the people in his community.

Most recently, Josh Wyatt – the CEO of Manhattan’s premier club venue Brooklyn Mirage – hosted a fundraiser to raise money for Desta’s cancer treatment, with more than 500 guests including world-class DJs and performers.

And despite the shutdown, his former boss at Chapel Bar extended his health insurance to cover treatment costs, while his friends a GoFundMe.

Desta said, “I don’t believe in keeping secrets, especially about something like this. I believe in spirituality. I believe in people. That’s my disease. I love people.

“So when you tell people about these things, about your challenges, they think of you. They pray for you. So I believe that energy really uplifts and heals. So I didn’t want to hide it.”

Dr Pashtoon Kasi, medical director of gastrointestinal medical oncology at City of Hope Orange County in California, told DailyMail.com that stories like Desta’s are unfortunately on the rise.

He said exposure to toxins, lifestyle habits and diet, especially the consumption of ultra-processed foods, can create conditions that influence the development of cancer at a younger age.

Additionally, researchers are beginning to investigate how antibiotic exposure in childhood is associated with the development of colorectal cancer, as well as exploring how the body’s microbiome plays a role.

In an effort to curb rising cancer rates among young people, Dr. Kasi said that “education is critical.”

He added: ‘Younger adults need to understand the symptoms and prioritize screening, which can detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages.

“Community physicians should also stay aware of these trends and proactively order necessary tests or investigations if symptoms persist.

‘Lifestyle changes are just as important. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, reducing alcohol consumption, not smoking, and avoiding ultra-processed foods are all tangible essential steps until we gain a better understanding of what else contributes.

‘In addition, continued investment in cancer research is crucial.’

Desta’s story comes amid an explosion of cancer cases in young people around the world, and colon cancer is among the fastest rising.

The number of diagnoses is expected to increase by 90 percent between 2010 and 2030 in people aged 20 to 34.

The five-year survival rate for colon cancer is 64 percent, but that drops to 14 percent if the cancer has spread, which is common in early-onset cases because symptoms are often not present or misdiagnosed until the cancer spreads through the body. body has spread. .

Symptoms include changes in toilet habits, blood in the stool, weakness, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, a lump in the abdomen or rectum, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, constipation and vomiting.

Now Desta is undergoing treatment and his doctors hope chemotherapy will help him into remission.