She thought it was hemorrhoids, but it was late-stage rectal cancer

Laura Behnke first noticed bloody, red mucus in the toilet while trying in vitro fertilization and assumed it was pregnancy-related hemorrhoids. She saw intermittent bleeding and sometimes pencil-thin stools, but felt well and did not suspect cancer. After giving birth and more than a year of symptoms, she consulted a colorectal surgeon to have a swollen external hemorrhoid removed.

The doctor ordered a colonoscopy, which found stage 3b rectal cancer that had spread to nearby lymph nodes. She underwent radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery to remove parts of her colon and rectum; doctors later said every visible trace of the cancer was gone.

Experts say rectal cancer is rising among people under 50 and that many young-onset cases are rectal, often producing bloody stools. Rebecca Siegel, an epidemiologist, noted the landscape is changing, and research suggests bloody stools are an early warning sign for about 40% of rectal cancer patients.

rectal cancer, hemorrhoids, bloody stools, thin stools, colonoscopy, stage 3b, lymph nodes, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, young-onset