Mother-of-three, 41, diagnosed with colon cancer after pushing for a colonoscopy

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Mother-of-three, 41, diagnosed with colon cancer after pushing for a colonoscopy – despite doctors saying her bleeding was caused by childbirth

  • Clarissa Sobolewski started getting pregnant with daughter Isabella, last year
  • Sobolewski pushed for a colonoscopy
  • Colon cancer is most common in younger people, driving the American Cancer Society to drop the screening age threshold from 50 to 45
  • Sobolewski still falls

By Mia De Graaf Health Editor For Dailymail.com and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 11:16 EST, 1 March 2019 | Updated: 11:23 EST, 1 March 2019

A 41-year-old woman was diagnosed with colon cancer six months after giving birth to her third child – after her symptoms were dismissed as childbirth-related.

Clarissa Sobolewski, of Avon, Ohio, started getting pregnant, last year.

It is something many women experience after work, especially if they experienced a tear, but Sobolewski told Fox 8 that she felt something was not right.

What's more, even though rectal bleeding is a symptom of colon cancer, screening is not recommended until 45.

Sobolewski, a colonist, was first diagnosed with colon cancer.

Clarissa Sobolewski, of Avon, Ohio, started getting pregnant, last year. She pushed for a colonoscopy that revealed colon cancer

Clarissa Sobolewski, of Avon, Ohio, started getting pregnant, last year. She pushed for a colonoscopy that revealed colon cancer

Sobolweski is called on others to know their family history

Sobolweski is called on others to know their family history

Now they are urging their gut and get checked.

'It comes down to that, you know, it's like you're feeling gonna ignore your feeling,' she added.

WHAT IS COLON CANCER?

Colon cancer is a cancer of the large intestine (the colon).

Usually it starts with polyps, which are small clumps of cells.

Gastroenterologists can see them in a colonoscopy because they are raised off the surface of the colon like a mole.

Symptoms include:

  • Blood in your stool or rectal bleeding
  • Stomach cramps
  • Persistent gas
  • Never feel like you have emptied your bowels
  • exhaustion
  • Weight loss
  • Change in bowel clothes that persists for more than a month

People with stage 1 tumors have a survival rate (living five years or more) of 80-95 percent.

At stage 2, the survival rate is 55 to 80 percent.

At stage 3, it's about 40 percent, and at stage 4 it's about 10 percent.

WHAT IS COLON CANCER?

Colon cancer is a cancer of the large intestine (the colon).

Usually it starts with polyps, which are small clumps of cells.

Gastroenterologists can see them in a colonoscopy because they are raised off the surface of the colon like a mole.

Symptoms include:

  • Blood in your stool or rectal bleeding
  • Stomach cramps
  • Persistent gas
  • Never feel like you have emptied your bowels
  • exhaustion
  • Weight loss
  • Change in bowel clothes that persists for more than a month

People with stage 1 tumors have a survival rate (living five years or more) of 80-95 percent.

At stage 2, the survival rate is 55 to 80 percent.

At stage 3, it's about 40 percent, and at stage 4 it's about 10 percent.

Experts warn that cases like Sobolewski's are rare.

The age range is recommended for screening, and it is recommended that the most important risks be identified.

Recently, the American Society Recommended that colon cancer screening start at 45, rather than 50, after studies showed a sharp uptick (22 percent) in cases diagnosed in 45-50-year-olds in the last 20 years.

But that raised some eyebrows, with experts publishing it.

And, statistics aside, colonoscopies are no walk in the park. The eight-liter drink to wash the digestive system beforehand is nauseating, and the test is not the most pleasant thing to endure if you do not have to.

For those younger than the newly-dropped recommended age group, the procedure may not be covered on insurance.

But for some people like Sobolewski, it saves lives.

Thankfully, she knew she had a family history – both her parents had polyps (growths in the lining of the colon) at 50.

As Sobolewski put it: 'I was moved by God to talk about polyps because my parents had polyps at 50. And doctors were like, we really do not test for that until 50.'

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