Young woman warns of bowel cancer warning signs after beating stage 3 at 24

Paige Seifert, an engineer from Denver, Colorado, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at 24 and is now cancer-free at 25 after months of intensive treatment.

Seifert reports noticing three warning signs early: blood in the stool, persistent stomach pain, and unexplained fatigue. She initially dismissed them as hemorrhoids or stress, a misjudgment she says others should not repeat. Doctors told her she was too young for cancer and treated her symptoms as hemorrhoids. In January 2025 a gastroenterologist ordered a colonoscopy that revealed a large mass in her colon; the surgeon later told her the tumor was cancer. After the diagnosis, Seifert underwent treatment that would become physically grueling and emotionally trying.

The cancer was already at stage three, meaning it had begun to spread beyond the bowel and would be harder to treat. Medical data show significant differences in survival by stage: stage one bowel cancer has a five-year survival rate of about 90 percent, while stage three drops to roughly 65 percent. Doctors stress that catching the disease early expands treatment options, including surgery and chemotherapy. If the cancer reaches stage four, when it has spread to other organs, the five-year survival rate falls to around 10 percent.

Seifert completed 12 rounds of chemotherapy followed by major surgery and is now in remission. She has shared her experience in a TikTok video to encourage others to seek a medical check when warning signs arise, emphasizing blood in the stool, abdominal pain, and fatigue as key signals not to ignore. The clip is part of a broader effort to raise awareness about bowel cancer in younger people, who are experiencing a rising incidence compared with older patients.

Her story comes amid growing concern about colorectal cancer diagnoses among people under 50. In the United Kingdom, about 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, and more than 17,000 die from the disease. The surge has prompted researchers to explore possible explanations, though no single cause has been confirmed. Potential theories cited by specialists include childhood exposure to certain bacteria, lifestyle factors linked to modern life, ultra-processed foods, microplastics, and food packaging chemicals. While these hypotheses are under investigation, medical groups warn against attributing risk to any one factor without robust evidence.

Beyond the headline figures, clinicians point to a broader set of symptoms that can accompany bowel cancer. Unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, changes in bowel habits such as ongoing diarrhea or constipation, a sense of needing to pass stool after a bowel movement, and pencil-thin stools can all be warning signs. Early detection matters because it typically offers more treatment options and improves survival odds. The case of Dame Deborah James, known as the Bowel Babe, who died in 2022 at age 40 after raising more than £11.3 million for cancer research, has also heightened public awareness about the disease and its impact on younger patients.

As researchers continue to study why rates are rising among younger adults, health professionals reiterate the importance of listening to the body and reporting persistent symptoms to a healthcare provider. Seifert’s experience underscores the potential consequence of delayed care, but her recovery also offers a hopeful reminder that early detection and comprehensive treatment can lead to remission. Patients and public health officials alike stress that anyone experiencing persistent or alarming symptoms—especially those under 50—should seek prompt medical evaluation, rather than assuming the issue is benign.