I was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer at 27 years old.

That is the hardest sentence to write. Everyone is affected by cancer at some point in their lives but sometimes I feel like I've been cursed. My mother was diagnosed with Stage IIIb Triple Negative Breast Cancer in 2010 and we struggled to keep her alive throughout her chemo and radiation due to her horrible side effects. She is now in remission and hopefully remains that way. My maternal grandmother died when I was 5 years old from Ovarian Cancer. My paternal Grandfather died of Colon Cancer. My maternal grandfather died from cardiac complications due to chemotherapy for his Prostate Cancer. My mother in law died from Ovarian Cancer.

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I had moderate gastrointestinal symptoms mimicking gall-stones for about 6 months prior to my diagnosis. Symptoms included a change in bowel habits, gas, nausea, feeling of fullness, acid reflux, pain in my right abdomen below the ribs, shoulder pain, worsening pain with fatty meals, and unexplained weight loss. The day before Easter 2017 I felt nauseated and tried to eat and drink water. I began vomiting around 9pm and didn't stop for hours. I went to the ER the next morning hoping to get fluids and a gallbladder ultrasound. The physician could not get a clear ultrasound image, so I had a CT scan. My CT scan showed a bowel blockage in my Ascending Colon, among other findings. Because I had a complete blockage, I could not have a colonoscopy, so I was scheduled for emergency surgery. I had laparascopic bowel resection that Monday which revealed a golf-ball sized tumor and metastasis to 15 lymph nodes. I had a PET scan to further evaluate my stage and was found to have multiple small liver metastases, more affected abdominal lymph nodes, and several large bone metastases on my pelvis, ribs and spine. I'm currently undergoing chemotherapy and fighting every day.

I'm fighting for my life.