Colorectal cancer doesn’t run in my family, so I never thought that it would be a battle I had to face at age 27. That changed when I noticed my body starting to change in 2012. My bowel movements swiftly changed from very normal to the extreme opposite.

I had a terrible pain in my rectum and noticed blood in my stool. My gastroenterologist said it may be nothing to worry about but recommended I have a colonoscopy because of the...