young people – Two people from southwest Michigan say they only realized colorectal cancer wasn’t “something else” after months of ignored symptoms—and now they’re urging others to advocate for tests, get screened early, and take warning signs seriously.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — “As a young person you don’t ever think cancer is going to be part of your story.” Shameka Taylor said it like a truth she still has to live with every day.
At 39, the Kalamazoo resident is living with Stage 4 colorectal cancer. She was 36 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 in August 2022. “At first I was angry. I was really angry,” she said. “Why me? Why did this happen? And then I had to stop and I had to think and I had to say, ‘Why not me?’”
Her anger didn’t turn into denial. It turned into a fight for answers—and later, a fight inside hospitals and recovery rooms. Taylor said she thought her symptoms were anxiety and general fatigue from keeping up with her two sons. She only became convinced something else was happening when she started having flu-like symptoms every several weeks.
“I never once thought, ‘This could be cancer.’ I had Googled all my symptoms. Which they tell you not to do, and colon cancer came up,” Taylor said. “But it showed that it was more relevant in people who were 70 so I didn’t think that that was me.”
In her case. the “mass” was real—and it started a path that now includes chemotherapy. four surgeries. and immunotherapy extending until September 2026. Taylor said the cancer had spread to her pancreas, bile duct, and liver area. “They’ve had to remove a lot of that and they had to take part of my pancreas out. ” she said. “They’ve also had to remove my bile duct and resection my colon. I’ve also had part of my stomach removed and then they reconnected everything back to function.”.
For her, even progress comes with a countdown. “I have a very aggressive form of colon cancer and so I just know that I’m okay for three months,” Taylor said. “In three months I could have another scan and my world could be completely upside down again.”
That same sense of uncertainty is something Howard Robinson II of Portage understands, even though his story ended differently. Robinson has been cancer-free for five years. He was also 36 when he was diagnosed with Stage 3 in 2020.
“People depend on me,” he said. “I have to be here, you know. It’s not my time yet.”
Robinson said he knew something was wrong when his bowel movements started changing. “I said, ‘I know my body and I don’t think it’s constipation,’” he said. He went to doctor visits where his stool sample and his blood sample both came back fine. His doctor ordered a colonoscopy, and Robinson said that’s when the mass was found.
From there, Robinson endured two surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. “Don’t ignore your body telling you things,” Robinson said. “If I had done that I wouldn’t be here.”
Neither Taylor nor Robinson have a family history of colorectal cancer, and that’s part of what makes their warnings land so hard. If you’re young, the symptoms can feel easy to explain away—stress, fatigue, constipation, or something temporary—until they don’t.
Michael Sapienza. CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. said people often try to connect alarming increases to everyday factors like food or where someone lives. but the cause isn’t that simple. “People will say. ‘Oh. is it because of the food we eat or where we live or what we’re around?’ But we really don’t know why this alarming increase is happening. ” Sapienza said.
Colorectal cancer is also particularly unforgiving when it’s found late. Sapienza said it is the leading cause of cancer death in people who are younger than 50. according to the Alliance. and that most screening guidelines recommend getting a colonoscopy once you turn 45. “Colorectal cancer overall has about a 60% survival rate,” Sapienza said. “But when you get to late stage. meaning stage three. stage four. where it’s gone to other organs you only have a 13% five-year survival rate.”.
He said dismissals in the doctor’s office can make the difference. “Unfortunately what’s happening and these people are having these symptoms, they go into the doctor and the doctor dismisses them,” Sapienza said. “And then by the time that they’re diagnosed, they’re late stage.”
The Alliance points people to a short list of symptoms to watch. They say to pay attention to changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, unexpected weight loss, and night sweats. “If any of these symptoms persist for more than two weeks they say it’s time to see your doctor and to ask for a colonoscopy. ” the Alliance said.
Sapienza also said screening shouldn’t depend on whether someone has a family history or symptoms. “The Alliance says everyone—whether you have a family history or symptoms or not—needs to start getting colonoscopies at 45.”
He spoke with personal urgency when he addressed what happens when screening gets missed. “My mom didn’t have her screening, and unfortunately, she got the disease and she died,” Sapienza said.
For Taylor, the advice is equally direct: don’t wait for someone else to take you seriously. “Advocate for yourself,” she said. “If you feel like something is wrong, advocate and make sure that you’re getting the tests you need. And if one doctor doesn’t listen have another doctor look it over.”
Her fight now continues with immunotherapy and the difficult hope that comes with scheduled treatments and scans. “There’ve been times where I’ve said, ‘Maybe I just shouldn’t do the treatment,’” Taylor said. “Maybe I should let things take their course and be how it’s supposed to be. But then in real life what does everybody around me do?. I can’t give up just because things are hard.”.
Robinson’s message lands on the same nerve: the body changes, and it’s your job to act. “People depend on me,” he repeated, tying survival not just to medicine, but to insistence.
The Alliance offers helpful resources through its website, and information is also available from the American Cancer Society.
colorectal cancer young adults screening colonoscopy Kalamazoo Portage Shameka Taylor Howard Robinson II Stage 3 Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer Alliance Michael Sapienza immunotherapy