'They saved my life': Kentucky mom shares her colon cancer journey to save others
More than 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer every year.
This month is a time of year to spread awareness about the disease.
In honor of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, a Cold Spring, Kentucky, mom is sharing her cancer story.
Patty Goering is a mom of two who had no history of colon cancer in her family.
When she was 48, she noticed strange symptoms that she'd been brushing off - it turned out to be stage three colon cancer.
She says detecting it in time saved her life.
"She just happened to ask, is there anything else you're concerned about? And I said, well, I have seen, you know, some blood on my stool off and on for the last couple of years, completely ignored it," says Goering.
In 2021, she got her diagnosis.
That's also the year that the American Cancer Society lowered the recommended age for a colonoscopy from 50 to 45.
Up until that point, unless you had a family history of the disease or symptoms, you weren't screened in your 40s.
"I was fairly healthy, no family history of anything or cancer," Goering said.
Dr. Tahir Latif, a colon and blood cancer specialist at UC Medical, says cases like hers are on the rise.
"Five, 10 years ago, when we see a young person with colorectal cancer, we are surprised. Nowadays, it's becoming routine. Every third or fourth patient is coming in at the age of under 50," said Latif.
It's a concerning trend, but Latif explains that with the right treatment, there is hope.
For some, that means surgery, but he says there is mounting evidence that in some patients, chemotherapy can give the best outcome.
For Goering, it was chemotherapy; her cancer responded so well to treatments that she no longer required surgery.
She shared how grateful she is for her care team at UC Medical.
"I owe them my life. They saved my life," Goering says.
She is now in remission and hopes sharing her story reminds someone else to get screened.
Latif says if you have a family history of colon cancer, the recommended age for your first screening is 10 years prior to the age your family member was at the time of their diagnosis.