Blood during pregnancy dismissed—cancer found stage 4

Blood dismissed – Gabby Zappia, 37 and based in Mission Viejo, California, says symptoms that were reassured as pregnancy-related hemorrhoids turned into a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis within months—followed by multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and recurring

When Gabby Zappia first noticed blood in her stool, she was six months into her third pregnancy. Her obstetrician quickly reassured her, telling her the bleeding was likely caused by pregnancy-related hemorrhoids.

Zappia, 37, tried to push the concern aside and returned to her day-to-day life with two children, ages 4 and 5 at the time—carpools, lunches, laundry, and dishes filling most of her calendar. “I still have a little bit of a hard time slowing down,” she said.

Then, one day before her due date in June 2024, the bleeding changed. She saw significantly more blood in the toilet, describing it as “blood diarrhea.” She went to OB triage immediately. During the visit, she said the staff seemed to question her, asking whether she’d taken photos. After a vaginal exam found nothing wrong with the baby, they decided to induce labor.

A few months later, the warning signs she had been told to dismiss followed her into the next chapter.

After her son’s birth, Zappia wanted to focus on being with him. But when the bleeding persisted, she called her primary care physician and was put on a three-month waiting list to see a gastroenterologist. In December 2024—six months after giving birth—she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

Zappia said she had no family history of colon cancer and had expected a different kind of explanation, something like polyps or Crohn’s disease. “I’m still shocked, honestly,” she said. “I was just heartbroken. I thought that I was invincible before this.”

Her gastroenterologist was the first time she felt her symptoms were being taken seriously. In the office. he gave her a guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT). performed on a card that turns blue when stool samples contain blood. She said the entire card turned blue, indicating a higher amount of blood.

He scheduled a colonoscopy, but it meant another monthlong wait. In November 2024, Zappia learned the diagnosis was far more advanced than she could have imagined: a mass so large that it nearly blocked her entire colon.

She was scheduled for a colon resection surgery one month later. “The mass was the size of a baseball when she ended up taking it out, which is absolutely insane because I’m a small person, too,” Zappia said.

During the months leading up to the cancer diagnosis. Zappia said extreme fatigue kept getting folded into the story she was living in—pregnancy. “The days when I felt the most sick. like I was in thick mud just trying to get my day started. were the days that I pulled myself together the most. ” she said.

She also wondered whether the way she presented herself affected how seriously her symptoms were taken. Zappia said she would always put on makeup and try to be her usual bubbly self. and she suspects that may have made it harder for doctors to believe something was wrong. “If I was kind of looking sick, maybe they would’ve been more concerned,” she said.

Balancing treatment with being a parent

After her colon resection, a biopsy on her liver showed that the cancer had spread. Zappia was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Once she recovered from the initial surgery. she underwent a second surgery for her chemotherapy port. which provides a convenient access point for chemo treatments. She then began a chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimen.

In between treatments, Zappia underwent a liver resection and ablation surgery to remove tumors. She also had a hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump installed in her abdomen to deliver concentrated doses of chemo directly to her liver.

Zappia said the hardest part of her diagnosis was being a patient while still needing to stay engaged for her children. “When you’re a mom, you don’t get to pause,” she said. “Your kids still need you. They still want snacks. They still want you to be there for bedtime.”

Even when she was recovering from chemo side effects such as bone pain and flu-like symptoms, she said she forced herself to get up on those days. She also said she was afraid to hold her kids out of fear they would accidentally pull the tubing of her chemo pump out.

Finding childcare during hospital days was another strain. She said it was made easier by her husband. Zappia described him as handling nearly all of the household and childcare responsibilities throughout treatment. “I am so incredibly lucky to have an amazing husband. ” she said. adding that the family tried to tackle everything “as a team” and normalize life for the kids—keeping routines. celebrating small moments. and making sure their home still felt safe and full of joy.

She said friends, family, neighbors, and people from her church also stepped in with carpools and meals. “It really does take a village, and we’ve really needed to lean on them throughout this whole experience,” she said.

The bumps after remission

After she completed treatment, a PET scan found new cancer activity in her liver. Following her liver resection, Zappia finished chemotherapy and rang the bell in September 2025 after having no evidence of disease.

For her, that milestone was real—but short-lived. “It was an incredible milestone in my journey, but early,” Zappia said. Three months later, a PET scan found some cancer activity in her liver. After the initial shock of the new diagnosis wore off. she said she understood she would face “bumps in the road.”.

Zappia said she chose to focus on what she could control. She underwent a robotic liver resection at the end of 2025 to remove the affected area. But after an MRI revealed a new tumor nearby, she had the procedure again in March 2026—marking her third liver surgery overall.

After multiple surgeries, she said her blood tests found no signs of disease as of April 2026.

A warning she hopes others will act on

Colorectal cancer is now described as the deadliest cancer for people under 50, and Zappia said she wants that statistic to translate into earlier action. She pointed to symptoms like bloody stools, saying it is one of the most common signs of colon cancer.

“Sure, it might be hemorrhoids, and that would be awesome, but confirm that,” she said. “Don’t just take the possibility that that’s what it is.”

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