Exclusive | I got diagnosed with colon cancer at 44 these were my 4 main symptoms

Just when she thought life couldn’t get busier, New Jersey mom of six Elaine Griffin got diagnosed with Stage 2b colon cancer.“I was very shocked, and I think the doctors were as well because it doesn’t typically affect someone in their mid-40s,” Griffin told The Post.Colorectal cancer is on the rise among people under 50 — a trend that’s baffling doctors.Griffin was 44 when doctors discovered that a 4.3-centimeter tumor had broken through the wall of her sigmoid colon, the part of the large intestine that connects to the rectum.The Hamilton Square resident underwent surgery and chemotherapy before being declared cancer-free in September 2024.With March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Griffin is sharing her story in the hopes of inspiring others to sign up for a colonoscopy, which is the most effective way to diagnose colon cancer.“One of the things I did was kind of beg for my life,” Griffin recalled.

“I prayed to God and I said, ‘You know, if you just let me live, I’ll do anything I can to make sure that other people have this information.'”Griffin, who had no history of colon cancer in her family, reveals the four main signs that prompted her to seek medical help in the spring of 2024.The “scary thing” for Griffin was that her symptoms would come in waves.In the fall of 2023, she noticed some food intolerance.

It seemed like she had a gluten allergy, even though she didn’t have one.Griffin documented her digestion troubles in a notebook to see if a particular food triggered issues.She’s always been mindful of her diet because she was born without a gallbladder, and her appendix was removed in 1993.Processing oils has been a struggle for 30 years.“It was one of those things where I knew something was going on, but I didn’t see it was anything more than, ‘OK, maybe I’m just getting older,'” said Griffin, who will turn 46 in July.After experiencing what “felt like glass going through my intestines” a few tim...