Doctors Warning About Colon and Rectal Cancers Increasing In Young Adults

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)-- Doctors say it's an alarming new trend, colorectal cancer rates that have been declining for years are now increasing  among people in their 20's and 30's.

Each pregnancy for Chaya Biskin-Sitko seemed to get harder and more painful, but it took years for her doctors to figure out why.

"I've never even considered colon cancer as a thing, I thought old men get that," she said.

The 33-year-old mother of three is one of a growing number of young people diagnosed with colorectal cancer according to a new study from American Cancer Society.

Compared to people born around 1950, those born in 1990 have double the risk of colon cancer and quadruple the risk of rectal cancer, the study shows.

Researchers say the increase is not linked to family history, so environmental factors are likely to blame.

"Some of it may be due to the fact that there have been changes in young people, in the millennial generation, in terms of a more sedentary lifestyle, dietary changes, obesity may play a role but that is not really clear," said Dr. Andrea Cercek, with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Current guidelines recommend screening at age 50 for people at average risk, making it hard to catch in younger patients.

"Although the data do not completely support early screening we may want to consider it," said Cercek.

Chaya had surgery and chemotherapy to treat her stage four cancer.

"If you have any symptoms, if you're bleeding at all, if your stomach is hurting, if something is not going right, if you're not feeling 100%, don't just go to one doctor and take their word for it," said Chaya.

She hopes her story will bring awareness to a group that may think this can't happen to them.

Doctors say a a high-fiber, low-fat diet can reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer.