Colon Cancer Diagnoses Delayed in Two Women After Pregnancy Symptoms Overlapped

Kate Cross noticed blood in her stool while pregnant at age 31 and reported constant exhaustion and iron deficiency requiring transfusions. Her obstetrician told her the symptoms were typical of pregnancy at each prenatal visit. Jenna Scott experienced severe abdominal cramping, rectal bleeding, nausea and vomiting near her due date.

Doctors attributed these symptoms to pregnancy hemorrhoids and pressure from the baby on her organs.

After giving birth, Cross continued to have difficulty using the bathroom and noticed ongoing rectal bleeding for months. Scott reported 18 days of heavy vaginal and rectal bleeding and was told by her obstetrician that she was still healing or that symptoms were hormonal.

Scott saw a primary care physician who referred her to a gastroenterologist. Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome did not resolve her symptoms, and a specialist ordered a colonoscopy despite noting she was young for the procedure.

Scott was diagnosed with stage four metastatic colon cancer two weeks after her son's first birthday. The cancer has since spread to her liver, lungs and lymph nodes around her lungs. Cross received a stage three colon cancer diagnosis after a colonoscopy at age 32, when her son was six months old.

She completed radiation, nine rounds of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries and is now three years cancer free.

Medical Advice on Overlapping Symptoms Dr.

Cedrek McFadden, medical advisor to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, said symptoms such as constipation, hemorrhoids, fatigue, abdominal discomfort and changes in bowel movements can occur in both pregnancy and colorectal cancer. McFadden stated that persistent rectal bleeding, anemia, abdominal pain, major fatigue or new bowel changes warrant further evaluation rather than automatic attribution to pregnancy.

He noted that younger patients often report knowing something was wrong before a diagnosis was reached. 6 percent of all new cancer cases. The American Cancer Society estimates 108,860 new colon cancer cases in 2026. 5 percent per year among older adults over the past decade, while rates among people under 55 have risen about 1 percent per year since the mid-2000s.