AMNA NAWAZ: Well, many people# associate colon cancer with old age,## but that's not the case anymore, as the number# of young people being diagnosed is on the rise.

GEOFF BENNETT: CBS "News# Hour"'s Deema Zein reports## on the latest research and patients' experiences.

DEEMA ZEIN: The number of young people# being diagnosed with cancer is on the rise,## and that includes colon cancer, which many# people associate with old age, but not anymore,## says Dr.

Andrea Cercek, head of the colorectal# section at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

DR.

ANDREA CERCEK, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer# Center: Normally, for colon cancer patients, they## were in their 60s, 70s, or 80s, and then all of a# sudden we were seeing this influx of young adults.

IMTIAZ HUSSAIN, Diagnosed at 26: I# never thought that I would have cancer,## because I was like just young, 26# years old.

And it was heartbreaking.

DEEMA ZEIN: An estimated 154,000 people in## the U.S.

will be diagnosed with# colon and rectal cancer in 2025,## according to the American Cancer Society.# One in five are young, under the age of 55.

Imtiaz Hussain is one of them.

He never# thought colon cancer would affect him,## especially at such a young age.

IMTIAZ HUSSAIN: The first time I got my bleeding,# I should have gone to colonoscopy, because## I ignored it.

I got my bleeding -- I started# bleeding seven months prior to I got diagnosis.

DEEMA ZEIN: Katie Standley was a young new# mother when she started noticing changes in## her body.

For a few years, her symptoms were# passed off as related to having children.

KATIE STANDLEY, Diagnosed at 34: At that time,# I was having so many issues, all I needed was## an answer.

And I feel like I was just getting# kind of brushed off as it being something else.

DEEMA ZEIN: While many factors have been# associated with the rise in cancer diagnosis,## the exact reason still needs# more research, Cercek says.

DR.

ANDREA CERCEK: We think it's likely what we# call sort of environmental factors or combination## of environmental factors, change in our lifestyle,# our diets, what we're ingesting in addition to## kind of processed foods, high sugar, antibiotics,# exposure to certain things like microplastics.

DEEMA ZEIN: One tool in the fight against# colon cancer, early screening.

In 2018,## the American Cancer Society became# the first organization to drop the## recommended colorectal cancer# screening age from 50 to 45.

In 2021, more organizations followed suit.

KATIE STANDLEY: I had a fight and advocate to# get myself a colonoscopy at a local G.I.

doctor.

DEEMA ZEIN: But the lowered screening age# doesn't help a population of young patients## like Standley, who still didn't qualify# when she had symptoms in her early 30s.

So why not screen everyone from the start?# Cercek says it's just not feasible to do## colonoscopies for everyone in their 20s and# 30s.

But she hopes the increase in interest,## research and funding will significantly# improve and lead to earlier detection.

DR.

ANDREA CERCEK: The best we can do right## now is to pay attention to our own# sy.. DEEMA ZEIN: That's what Standley did.

She received## a colonoscopy years after# her first symptoms began.

KATIE STANDLEY: I was diagnosed at the# end of a colonoscopy when they found a## 15-centimeter tumor blocking my colon.

And a# week later, a surgeon staged me at stage four,## which spread to my sacral# bone and possibly my lung.

DEEMA ZEIN: There are a few things you# can look out for, no screening required.

DR.

ANDREA CERCEK: Any symptoms that are# persistent, and usually by persistent we## mean lasting a few days, of things like bright# red blood for rectum, so rectal bleeding,## change in bowel habits like constipation# or diarrhea, unexplained weight loss,## abdominal pain super, super# tired from anemia, potentially.

Really, the person should get checked out by# their primary care provider or not necessarily## even to start with a gastroenterologist,# just at that conversation of what's going on.

KATIE STANDLEY: Colonoscopy is an# uncomfortable, annoying calendar date,## but it is so much better than# dealing with a diagnosis of cancer.

DEEMA ZEIN: For PBS News, I'm Deema Zein.