Overweight dad, 32, thought his diet was finally working… but then came devastating diagnosis

A father-of-three has revealed how he mistook his bowel cancer as a sign his new diet was working.

Pedro Guerrero of Houston, Texas, lost 40 pounds in two months after recently starting a low-carb keto diet.

He was so happy with the effectiveness of his new diet that he ignored other symptoms, such as stomach cramps, fatigue and constant diarrhea.

He revealed in a TikTok: ‘The pain eventually got so bad that I rushed to the ER. A quick CT scan detects a huge mass in my colon.”

Guerrero was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer at the age of 32, meaning the disease had spread from his intestines to other parts of his body.

Colon cancer used to be a disease of the elderly. But Guerrero is one of the biggest victims of the rapidly rising number of colon cancers among people under fifty.

Dr. Suneel Kamath, a gastrointestinal cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told DailyMail.com that weight loss is a “hallmark symptom of almost every cancer, including colorectal cancer.”

He added: ‘I don’t think we fully understand why this happens, but we do know that cancer causes a state of wasting called ‘cachexia’.

‘In fact, it releases signals in the blood that cause our normal cells to not receive or use our nutrition normally, causing the body to lose weight and the cancer cells to absorb more of that nutrition.’

Dr. Kamath says the best way to notice unusual weight loss is to weigh yourself every morning after urinating, as this will provide the most consistent value from day to day.

The doctor emphasizes: ‘And if someone is trying to lose weight, they should be honest with themselves about how much they have actually lost on purpose.

‘Many people lose weight very quickly (about 10 pounds in two weeks) and they think their diet and exercise are going extremely well, but afterwards they realize that wasn’t the case, it was actually cancer.’

Fortunately, although Mr. Guerrero’s tumor had spread to nearby lymph nodes, it had not spread to other parts of his body.

After his diagnosis in May 2022, he was rushed into emergency surgery the next day and underwent a procedure to remove the right side of his colon to prevent the cancer from spreading further.

After a two-month recovery period, Mr. Guerrero began eight weeks of chemotherapy.

He says this was one of the hardest parts of his illness.

On a GoFundMe fundraising page he launched to help him pay his mounting medical bills, Mr. Guerrero wrote: “Chemotherapy, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure.

“Its symptoms and complications have left scars on me and I would never wish anything I am going through, even on my worst enemy.

“I keep thinking about being there for my wife, my kids, my parents and my in-laws, moving forward in life, and that’s what keeps me moving forward.”

After his shock diagnosis, Mr. Guerrero began posting TikTok videos in an effort to help others detect colon cancer early.

In one clip, he describes the severe stomach pain that finally led him to seek help, telling viewers, “I mean, this stomach pain was horrible.

“I was literally in a fetal position just clutching my stomach in pain.”

Before his symptoms worsened, Guerrero also started experiencing hemorrhoids in his 30s.

Although this is not a sign of colon cancer, the symptoms overlap with rectal bleeding, rectal itching and lumps in the anus, which are among the common complaints.

This meant that when he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had rectal bleeding, Mr Guerrero attributed this to the recurrence of his haemorrhoids.

He now realizes that with colon cancer the bleeding is usually more persistent and that the blood can be darker in color.

Thanks to his prompt treatment, Mr. Guerrero has been cancer-free since January 2023.

Since his battle with cancer, Mr. Guerrero has made several lifestyle changes. He now tries to avoid eating processed meat and rarely drinks alcohol.

He says his diet has been pretty poor in the past.

In one clip he reveals: ‘To be completely honest, the diet before this wasn’t great at all.

“We grew up pretty poor, so you just had to eat what you could at the time… so cheap meat, lots of frozen food.

‘I’ve been drinking a lot [of alcohol] from about 20 years [and] I mean, Coca Cola was my addiction.

‘I never actually thought about it, you know and I think that’s exactly how most Americans really are.”

In addition to helping people recognize the symptoms of colon cancer, Guerrero says he hopes his TikToks offer people hope for remission.

He writes in the caption of an excerpt: ‘Colon cancer was never something I thought I would get at the age of 32.

‘I’m sharing this to raise awareness, in hopes of helping someone who may be experiencing the same symptoms and considering seeing a doctor.

‘This disease is very curable, as long as you catch it in time. Please listen to your body when it gives you signals.’