24-year-old woman diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer after dismissing this one key symptom

A woman who dismissed blood in her stool as hemorrhoids was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer.

Meagan Meadows, 24, started experiencing blood in her stool in October 2024, but after chatting with friends and family, she dismissed her symptoms as hemorrhoids.

After a few months, her symptoms persisted, so Meagan booked an appointment with her primary care physician, who said she “wasn’t concerned” but ordered blood work and a CT scan to be safe – which came back clear.

She was then referred to a GI doctor – a gastroenterologist – who performed a colonoscopy in June 2025. Meagan said the doctor was in “complete shock” after finding a large mass and ordered another CT scan and blood tests.

Three days later, Meagan was diagnosed with colon cancer and told she would need an operation to remove the tumor.

In June 2025, doctors removed the mass, some of her colon, and 20 lymph nodes, which they sent for biopsy.

Seven of the lymph nodes came back cancerous, and Meagan received a further diagnosis of stage three colon cancer – and is currently undergoing six months of chemotherapy.

Meagan Meadows, 24, a recent teaching graduate, from Temecula, California, said: “My heart sank when they told me that my cancer was stage three.

“When they said that seven lymph nodes were cancerous, I was floored. I did not expect it to be so extreme.

“After that, I didn’t hear a thing – I shut down.

“The whole drive home, I was telling my parents that I didn’t want to die.

“It was so scary going from a normal 24-year-old to knowing that death was a possibility at my age.”

After initially experiencing blood in her stool, Meagan thought it was caused by hemorrhoids.

She had chatted with family and friends who all thought there was “nothing to worry about” because of her age.

Meagan said: “The only symptom I had was blood in my stool.

“I didn’t have a very good diet at the time, I wasn’t drinking enough water – anyone I spoke to told me it was hemorrhoids.

“I waited it out, but every time I went to the bathroom it was there.”

In February 2025, Meagan visited her primary care physician, who said she also “wasn’t concerned” but ordered blood work and a CT scan to be safe.

She had also referred Meagan to a GI doctor, but after the results of her blood work and CT scan came back clear, Meagan was going to cancel.

Meagan said: “I started off with getting the blood work back, nothing indicated there was an issue. I got the CT scan back, which came back normal.

“I thought obviously my results were fine, so I thought I was fine and I didn’t need to go further.

“I was so close to canceling my appointment with my GI doctor.”

In April 2025, Meagan went ahead with her appointment with her GI doctor, who ordered a colonoscopy.

The results showed that Meagan had a large mass on her colon, so the GI doctor ordered another blood test and a CT scan.

Those results came back showing the mass and enlarged lymph nodes, so doctors took a biopsy of the mass.

Meagan said: “Three days later, they told me I had colon cancer.

“I was in complete shock. I had a strong feeling it might be, but I was still really scared and upset.

“The hardest part about it all was not knowing what was going to happen next.

“The doctor had told me I was the youngest person he had seen with this diagnosis.”

In June 2025, Meagan underwent an operation to remove the mass, some of the colon, and a few lymph nodes.

During the operation, doctors ended up taking out “much more” than they expected – including 25 cm of her colon and 20 lymph nodes.

The results came back and confirmed that Meagan had stage three colon cancer and is now undergoing six months of chemotherapy.

Meagan said: “That was the appointment I was dreading the most. I was so relieved that the tumor had gone, but it was a scary 10 days of waiting.

“Treatment has been difficult; it gets a lot harder each time I go.

“It takes a lot of willpower to go back each time.”

Meagan’s friend and family launched a GoFundMe to help cover medical expenses.