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The video message of a YOUNG mother urging others to listen to their bodies and control their symptoms became viral after she was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Jennifer Waller, 32, a nurse in New Jersey, said she was suffering from weight loss and abdominal discomfort that could have been seen as symptoms of busy life.
Despite her young age, she received a colonoscopy and woke up four hours later to find out that she had cancer.
"When I woke up, he told me that I had a big tumor," said Ms. Waller, a single mother of two young children, in her video of August 29th.
"It was a shock because I can not have cancer. I am a nurse. I'm busy with people. I tell people that you have cancer. I treat you. I can not have cancer. Yet here I am saying the words that make me so nauseous.
Ms. Waller said that she had already had her breasts checked and that many blood tests were done before the colonoscopy.
According to the NSW Cancer Council, bowel cancer is the second most common cancer among people in Australia. It is estimated that about 15,000 people have colon cancer each year.
He says that most people with colon cancer are over 50 years old and that the risk increases with age. Lifestyle-related factors, such as being overweight, a diet high in red meat (especially processed meats such as salami or ham), alcohol consumption and smoking can also increase the risk of contracting the disease.
In the United States, the guidelines recommend that patients be screened for colon cancer after the age of 50, which, according to Waller, would have been too late.
"I made this video because here in the United States, you do not post until age 50. It's 18 years old, "she said.
"I mean, according to my biopsy, I would be dead. And if I had not come in and if I had not been aware of my body, I would have been dead.
Ms. Waller's video has been viewed more than 23,000 times since she posted it and her colleagues have launched a GoFundMe to help cover any salary lost during her leave for treatment.
"You think of things you never want to think about," she said in her video. "Who will take care of my children? What will I do? Can I afford treatments? Can I afford not to work? I mean that's crazy. I wanted to make this video for people to be aware of because I think there are a lot of feelings that you can not necessarily feel.
Ms. Waller did not share the details of her diagnosis, but stated that the disease was spreading rapidly and that she was committed to staying positive during treatment.
"I will not be a victim," she said. "I will not feel bad for myself. I am going to fight. I will fight like hell and no matter where this road leads me, no matter where I am, I will always be at the top. So, cancer, let us dance. I'm ready."
In Australia, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program offers free screening kits to Australians aged 50 to 74 years.
This story appeared on Fox News and has been reissued here with permission.
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