{"id":135219,"date":"2018-03-13T13:45:03","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T17:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=135219"},"modified":"2018-03-13T13:53:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T17:53:59","slug":"39-year-old-woman-beats-colon-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/03\/39-year-old-woman-beats-colon-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"39-Year-Old Woman Beats Colon Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a few months Cloe Rodriguez, 39, of Plainville was experiencing some stomach cramping and constipation.<\/p>\n

But then one day she found blood in her toilet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was bleeding really bad and went to the Emergency Department at UConn John Dempsey Hospital,\u201d says Rodriguez. There emergency department physicians and gastroenterologists performed a colonoscopy and discovered a large, cancerous tumor growing inside her colon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am only 39,\u201d shared Rodriguez. \u201cI was shocked by my diagnosis. It\u2019s a total eye-opener. You would never think that a young person could get colon cancer. \u00a0I was always healthy and hiked every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez stresses: \u201cI am really glad that I was in the right place at the right time, with the right doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colon
Colon cancer survivor Cloe Rodriguez, 39, at UConn Health with her Colorectal Surgeon Dr. Eric Girard.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen she got here to UConn Health we took her complaints very seriously,\u201d says Dr. Eric Girard, her colorectal surgeon at UConn Health where a team of doctors from the Emergency Department and Division of Gastroenterology were able to make a quick and clear diagnosis of colon cancer.<\/p>\n

In mid-December, Girard performed a successful minimally invasive robotic surgery to remove her Stage III colon cancer and the surrounding lymph nodes where the cancer had spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to perform the minimally invasive procedure through tiny incisions to remove the colon cancer and get Cloe home faster and with a quick recovery,\u201d says Girard. \u201cShe was home from the hospital in three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before her bleeding Rodriguez had no major symptoms to ever think she could ever have colon cancer. And also she has no family history of the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cColon cancer truly is a silent killer,\u201d says Rodriguez. \u201cThankfully the doctors at UConn Health finally found my tumor and took care of it. My surgery and recovery went really well. And Dr. Girard is amazing, he is a very good doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez urges other young women and men to listen to their body and watch what you eat. \u201cAlways take care of yourself,\u201d says Rodriguez. \u201cMy diagnosis now makes me think twice about what food or drinks I put in my body. I now limit my red meat, eat more salad and raw veggies, drink more water and less coffee, and stay away from white sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cI would say to any young person get your body checked out. That\u2019s what I did and look at me. The disease is treatable if you get it checked out early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy treatment at UConn Health was amazing. I am now back to my hiking every day,\u201d says Rodriguez. \u201cI am so very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my job,\u201d says Girard. \u201cWhen we can take someone like Cloe and get them past their diagnosis so they can just go on living their everyday life. Seeing patients like Cloe, with big smiles on their face in the office, is why I do what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Girard, colon and rectal cancer in young adults used to be rare, but doctors are seeing it more and more. He believes that Rodriguez\u2019s cancer may have started as a tiny, precancerous polyp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way to avoid the major risks for colon cancer is by eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, exercising, avoiding obesity, and quitting smoking.\u201d stresses Girard. Obesity contributes to the disease\u2019s development since the adipose (fat) cells and overeating releases more hormones like insulin and estrogen which can act as growth factors that can increase the development of cancer.<\/p>\n

In addition to knowing your family history, Girard recommends these\u00a0 top 10<\/strong>\u00a0tips to reduce your likelihood of developing colon cancer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get screened with a colonoscopy for colon cancer starting at age 50, or ten years before your youngest relative was diagnosed.<\/li>\n
  2. Never ignore bleeding from your rectum or blood in your stool.<\/li>\n
  3. Beware of colon cancer symptoms such as abdominal pain and stomach distension.<\/li>\n
  4. Limit red meat.<\/li>\n
  5. Eat high fiber foods.<\/li>\n
  6. Maintain a low sugar diet.<\/li>\n
  7. Eat a lots of fruits and vegetables.<\/li>\n
  8. Drink water which is best, and avoid sugary drinks.<\/li>\n
  9. Limit alcohol.<\/li>\n
  10. Don\u2019t smoke.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    But remember most colon cancer patients don\u2019t have symptoms or they can be vague abdominal discomfort says Girard.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis is why Cloe\u2019s tumor got missed by two other hospitals. No one thinks of colon cancer in a 39-year-old,\u201d stresses Girard. \u201cBut it can happen to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Read more about Cloe Rodriguez, a 39-year-old woman who beat advanced colon cancer thanks to the doctors and surgeons at UConn Health. Plus, learn the top 10 ways you can reduce your likelihood of developing the disease. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":135221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1868],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-135219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meds"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 05:53:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/135221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135219"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=135219"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=135219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}