Podcast
‘Let’s Go After This Thing and Fight’ Urges a Long-Time Survivor of Early-Onset CRC
Author(s):
In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, a woman living with colorectal cancer who was diagnosed 14 years ago at age 29 discusses what it was like to be the youngest person in the treatment room, and how she found another community of young survivors.
Experts have suggested that the overuse of antibiotics as well as lifestyle exposures such as diet and exercise may be linked to the rising rates of colorectal cancer in young adults. However, much is still unknown about this growing trend.
For patients like Phuong Gallagher, who represents one of the many faces behind the statistics of early-onset colorectal cancer, so many questions remain unanswered. In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Gallagher shares her cancer story and explains how her experiences led her into the advocacy field, where she now works with The Colon Club.
“I got a lot of the ‘I feel sorry for you’ looks and treatment, because (other patients) were all much older and established in their lives,” Gallagher said during an interview with CURE®. “And they all felt like they had the chance to live their lives, but it's so unfair for somebody at 29 to get it. And that just didn't sit right with me. I'm not one for people to just feel sorry for me, it's more of ‘Let's go after this thing and fight it.’”
For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.
