{"id":329186,"date":"2026-03-04T22:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/329186\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:50:08","slug":"her-misdiagnosed-pregnancy-symptoms-turned-out-to-be-colon-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/329186\/","title":{"rendered":"Her Misdiagnosed \u2018Pregnancy Symptoms\u2019 Turned Out to Be Colon Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GabbyShare on Pinterest<\/a>When 36-year-old Gabby Zappia (pictured above) reported blood in her stool, her doctor attributed it to pregnancy-related hemorrhoids. Months later, a colonoscopy revealed she had stage IV colon cancer. Gabby ZappiaColorectal cancer in people under 50 is on the rise and is now the leading cause of cancer-related death for younger adults.Experts say it\u2019s still unclear why cases are rising among people under 50.Gabby Zappia is sharing her journey navigating diagnosis and treatment after her initial symptoms were misdiagnosed as pregnancy-related.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Gabby Zappia was 36 years old and pregnant with her third child when she noticed blood in her stool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought it up to my OB, and she said it was likely pregnancy-related hemorrhoids<\/a>. That explanation made sense, and I wanted it to make sense, so I trusted it,\u201d she told Healthline.<\/p>\n

After her son was born, her symptoms persisted, and she pushed for answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA colonoscopy<\/a> changed my life overnight. Instead of finding hemorrhoids, they found a large mass in my colon,\u201d Zappia said.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, Zappia was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer that had spread to her liver. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was a full-time mom, managing all aspects of my kids\u2019 schedules, and I also had a small part-time job,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter my diagnosis, I had to stop working to focus on appointments and recovery. My husband took over most of the day-to-day tasks that I had handled, and I had to step back significantly in my role as a mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zappia immediately had a colon resection and, after recovering, started chemotherapy and immunotherapy<\/a> in January 2025 at City of Hope.<\/p>\n

In April 2025, she took a break from chemotherapy and underwent liver resection surgery and implantation of an HAI pump. Then she resumed chemotherapy after recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 15 rounds of chemotherapy, I was declared no evidence of disease and rang the survivor bell in September 2025. A few months later, ctDNA tests showed cancer detection, and a PET scan confirmed activity in my liver,\u201d said Zappia.<\/p>\n

She underwent another liver surgery in January 2026. Because her ctDNA remains detectable, she is now exploring clinical trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cColon cancer is no longer just a disease of older adults, and it is on the rise. You know your body better than anyone. If something feels off, ask questions and request additional testing. Push for answers. Ask for the colonoscopy,\u201d Zappia said.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not being heard, she stressed seeking a second opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more awareness. We need to listen to young patients. I am just one of many young faces of colon cancer, and if sharing my story helps even one person catch their cancer earlier, then sharing this journey has purpose,\u201d said Zappia.<\/p>\n

Once considered an older person\u2019s disease, colorectal cancer is now the leading cause<\/a> of cancer-related death in adults under 50. <\/p>\n

According to a January 2026 JAMA study<\/a>, colorectal cancer has surpassed breast and lung cancer to become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in U.S. adults under 50.<\/p>\n

Physicians at City of Hope, where Zappia received treatment, say they are now treating dozens of patients in their 20s, 30s, and 40s each week, reflecting what\u2019s happening nationwide.<\/p>\n

Pashtoon Kasi,<\/a> MD, MS, Medical Director of GI Medical Oncology at City of Hope Orange County, who treated Gabby, said three out of four people under the age of 50 are diagnosed with advanced disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no screening guidelines for somebody below the age of 45. It\u2019s important to reiterate that the age of screening has moved from 50 to 45, [but] we\u2019re frequently seeing individuals in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and because there is no screening test when they\u2019re diagnosed, they\u2019re often advanced or metastatic,\u201d Kasi said.<\/p>\n

While genetics can be a factor in a small percentage of early onset colorectal cancer, Kasi said the rise<\/a> of colorectal cancer in younger people often occurs in people without any risk factors.<\/p>\n

Researchers are looking into possible contributing factors, such as antibiotic use, the microbiome, diet, and microplastics<\/a>, but no single factor explains the rise.<\/p>\n

Paying attention to your body and symptoms is the strongest defense right now, said Kasi.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our individuals, of course, they are young<\/a>, so we\u2019ve seen this cancer being diagnosed during or after pregnancy, and often it gets labeled as hemorrhoids or something that is not concerning, but in hindsight, probably should have warranted attention earlier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Symptoms like rectal bleeding \u2014 which researchers<\/a> say is a strong indication of early onset colorectal cancer in adults under 50 \u2014 changes in bowel habits<\/a>, unexplained pain, and unintentional weight loss should be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The] fact that, at least right now, we don\u2019t have guideline-approved screening tests for these younger individuals, these are symptoms that do warrant more attention,\u201d Kasi said.<\/p>\n

According to City of Hope doctors, researchers are working on ways to improve treatments, including an emphasis on improving immunotherapy response, targeted therapies, and conducting clinical trials for rectal cancer that combine chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiosensitizers. <\/p>\n

Exploration of cellular and CAR-T therapies in highly refractory cases is also underway.<\/p>\n

Ajay Goel,<\/a> PhD, professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics at City of Hope, is working on blood-based tests to detect colorectal cancer in younger patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past decade or so, [we] have developed now a blood-based test, which can find evidence of early onset colon cancers, with fairly high accuracy. So, somewhere in 90% accurate test for finding patients with young-onset colon cancer. So that was quite exciting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While the test is not available publicly yet, Goel said it is promising. He envisions the test being given as part of annual labs drawn by primary care doctors starting with patients as young as 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuing to work on this, and we are hoping that we can, at some point, bring this test to the clinic once we can validate it in larger patient populations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share on PinterestWhen 36-year-old Gabby Zappia (pictured above) reported blood in her stool, her doctor attributed it to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33458,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-329186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-colon-cancer","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}