![\"woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Allison-Solomon-pic-2-e1772577382291.png\")
<\/p>\nMarch is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and a local woman who was shocked by a diagnosis in her late 30s is sharing her story.<\/p>\n
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Allison Solomon has joined the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to spread awareness of the disease.
\n(Courtesy Allison Solomon) <\/p>\n
\n Courtesy Allison Solomon <\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Allison-Solomon-pic-1.png\")
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Allison Solomon was diagnosed with colon cancer at 37 years old.
\n(Courtesy Allison Solomon) <\/p>\n
\n Courtesy Allison Solomon <\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Allison-Solomon-pic-3.png\")
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Solomon is now in remission after being diagnosed with colon cancer at age 37 in 2024.
\n(Courtesy Allison Solomon) <\/p>\n
\n Courtesy Allison Solomon <\/p>\n
Allison Solomon said she started noticing changes in her body two years ago. But when she started getting persistent symptoms, she knew something was wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started just noticing some changes in just my day to day,\u201d Solomon said.<\/p>\n
She was 37 at the time and had no family history of colon cancer, so she didn\u2019t qualify for a routine colonoscopy, which start at 45 years old.<\/p>\n
But she did not dismiss her persistent symptoms, which included loss of appetite, stomach cramps, a change in bowel habits and blood in her stool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said \u2018you have a malignancy,\u2019 which was shocking,\u201d Solomon said.<\/p>\n
She said after that, it was \u201ca whirlwind.\u201d<\/p>\n
She received a CT scan that confirmed the cancer had not yet spread to other organs.\u00a0Solomon\u2019s physician and a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital,\u00a0Dr. Benjamin Weinberg, recommended chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had surgery a month later, and then got transitioned over to being Dr. Weinberg\u2019s patient and started chemotherapy later that summer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Weinberg said they\u2019re researching why more younger people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.<\/p>\n
Colorectal cancer rates in those under 65 are rising rapidly, with almost half of new cases being in that group.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking for other explanations, like microbiome within the tumor itself, to try to distinguish, is there some unique quality to early onset colorectal cancer,\u201d Weinberg said.<\/p>\n And they\u2019re trying to use birth year as a guiding factor to try to get more answers.<\/p>\n \u201cFolks that were born in the \u201980s and early \u201990s, this is the group that seems to be the most impacted, whether that\u2019s from early antibiotic exposure, microplastics, some other exposure that we haven\u2019t identified yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Solomon has now been in remission since 2024 and is under close surveillance with routine tests and labs done frequently.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also gotten into the advocacy side of colorectal cancer, helping spread the word about the disease and access to resources. She said she\u2019s supporting the 2026 D.C. ScopeItOut 5K<\/a> on the National Mall on March 22 with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.<\/p>\n Colon cancer misconceptions<\/p>\n