colon cancer

A UCLA Health patient overcame her fears to get screened for colon cancer

A healthy serving of vegetables on a daily basis can help prevent many diseases

“My dad was 54 years old when he passed away,” says Porchia Toussaint, who was 31 when she learned her dad had stage 4 colon cancer. “His doctor told my brother and I that because we were his kids, we needed to get follow-up colonoscopies. I had no idea what [...]

“My new primary care physician was shocked that I hadn’t had a colonoscopy yet,” says 62-year-old James Weatherall, who chose UCLA Health for his medical care after moving to Los Angeles. “I went in for my colonoscopy expecting nothing, but came out of it with a tumor,” he says. “My whole [...]

“I was 35 years old when I started seeing some blood in my stool,” says Cameron Kalunian, whose primary care physician sent Cameron to a gastroenterologist to determine the cause. “They performed a sigmoidoscopy, which is a less invasive test than a colonoscopy. They found a large tumor at my [...]

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer. Every week over 1,000 Americans die from it. Currently, one in ten people diagnosed with colorectal cancer is under age 50. According to digestive diseases specialist Lynn Connolly, MD, colon cancer has been on the rise in people under age 50 for several [...]

Dear Doctors: My husband and I were shocked when our nephew was diagnosed with colon cancer. He’s only 36 years old. Isn’t that awfully young? It seems like we’re hearing about a lot of younger people getting this kind of cancer. Why is this happening? Dear Reader: Unfortunately, you’re correct about [...]

“I focus a lot of energy on treating the patient as a whole person,” explains Dr. Anne Lin, a colon and rectal surgeon at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. “When I meet patients, often they already have the diagnosis of colon cancer. I talk to them about the next steps in their [...]

“I went in for a routine colonoscopy, but the doctor was unable to remove a certain polyp, so they sent me to a surgeon who wanted to remove one-third of my colon,” recalls 64-year-old Linda Kama’ila, who immediately looked for a second opinion. “I would have been out of work [...]

“I was one hundred percent sure I had hemorrhoids,” recalls Stephane Strouk, an avid motorcyclist who decided to get a colonoscopy in 2016 to be sure. “I woke up, and the doctor said I had stage 3C colorectal cancer. I did 37 radiation treatments, five treatments per week. You meet wonderful people [...]