He ignored that symptom for 3 months, it turned out to be cancer: 'It spread everywhere in my body'
Maeyke’s symptoms were all too familiar at first glance. Fatigue that lasted all day, night sweats, irregular bowel movements and mild abdominal discomfort. “I found a logical explanation for all of them,” Maeyke said. “The fatigue was from being a mother, the sweating was from the summer, and the stomach ache was from what I ate. But they were all silent screams from my body.”
When she faced the truth, it was too late. The cancer had spread from her intestines to her liver, ovaries and abdominal cavity. “A doctor woke me up in the night. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I have bad news… You have cancer.’ I asked, ‘How do you know?’ I was shocked when he said, ‘It’s everywhere.’” Krystal Maeyke’s experiences once again revealed a truth that has been talked about for a long time in the medical world: Cancer no longer discriminates against age.
In recent years, the rate of bowel cancer in people under the age of 50 has been rising rapidly in many countries. In the UK, the increase is an average of 3.6 % per year; in the US, it is around 2%.
Moreover, it cannot be explained solely by genetics or risk factors such as obesity. The discovery of healthy individuals like Maeyke raises questions about environmental factors. Experts believe that plastic consumption, processed foods, chemicals and air pollution may also be effective in this increase.
Experts say that you should be especially careful about the following symptoms: long-lasting abdominal pain, bloating and gas problems, sudden or unexplained fatigue, night sweats, changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool or discoloration.
Colon cancer often does not show any symptoms in its early stages, so routine check-ups and not ignoring small changes are vital.
Krystal Maeyke has now dedicated the rest of her life to both fighting the disease and raising awareness. “If even one person reads this news and starts listening to their own body, this experience will not have been in vain,” she said.
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