Katie Davis lived a typical, busy college student life when she began to feel some stomach pain.
At 20 years old, she was a junior marketing major at Westchester University in Pennsylvania, balancing classes, a job at Playa Bowls, and her sorority commitments. Initially, the pain in the upper right of her abdomen was sporadic and easy to disregard.
“It was on and off, it would come in waves,” Davis, now 21, recounted. “I could go a while without it, and then it would flare up for just a few minutes, sometimes even seconds.”
As time went on, the pain became more intense, sometimes causing her to double over. After three months of dealing with it, she visited a local urgent care clinic while at her boyfriend’s family beach house. Unfortunately, the facility lacked ultrasound equipment, and she was informed that her symptoms might indicate an ovarian cyst, which would hopefully resolve after her next period.
Her doctor suspected colon cancer
Davis was advised to monitor the pain and to seek emergency care if she experienced additional symptoms like fever or nausea. A few days later, after starting to feel chills and vomiting at her parents’ home, she went to the hospital.
“That was the first time anything more serious than an ovarian cyst was suggested to me,” Davis shared. The results of her ultrasound and CAT scan showed that her colon was inflamed and had free fluid, indicating possible infection, trauma, or cancer.
The ER doctor speculated it could be Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or, in the worst-case scenario, colon cancer. A colonoscopy was scheduled.
“I really didn’t think I was going to find out I had cancer or something serious,” Davis said. Her first hint that something was amiss was when she woke up after the procedure to find herself in a separate recovery room.
The doctor, after performing the colonoscopy, told her and her mother that he was “pretty positive” the mass found in her colon was cancerous. “He mentioned he had seen enough to sort of know,” she recalled.
It wasn’t long before Davis was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.
“I was just in shock, confused at first—like, how could this happen to me?” Davis reflected.
Treatment challenges
After her diagnosis, Davis underwent surgery on her colon and was slated to begin a three-month chemotherapy regimen soon after. However, the side effects made her treatment much more complicated.
“I couldn’t cope with the intense chemotherapy,” she explained. The side effects included severe fatigue, nausea, and neuropathy, which felt like a tingling sensation in her hands with temperature changes.
The most concerning side effect was her vision loss. “Sometimes my vision would just go black,” she noted. Her parents investigated the drug oxaliplatin, which can cause such issues. Davis also discovered the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA) and said hearing similar experiences about side effects from others helped her understand alternative options.
Eventually, she was switched to an oral chemotherapy treatment, extending her treatment duration from three to six months but allowing her the flexibility to take medication wherever she was.
Despite everything, she made an effort to keep attending her college classes as much as possible, knowing her professors were aware of her diagnosis. “My friends and boyfriend are all there, so I wanted to be present as much as I could. It was tough to focus on schoolwork, though, especially while feeling so ill from the chemo,” she shared.
Grateful for awareness
Davis completed her chemotherapy in June 2025 and was soon declared cancer-free. She is now scheduled for blood tests every three months and an annual colonoscopy.
As a senior, she’s working as a marketing intern and figuring out her post-graduation plans. The end of treatment brought her feelings of “being excited to return to normal” and live her college life without the weight of medical appointments and treatment side effects on her shoulders.
Reflecting on her journey, she’s glad she paid attention to her body. “Most of my doctors said many people my age or with my condition typically don’t show the symptoms I experienced, which alerted me something was wrong,” she said. “I’m thankful I learned to trust my instincts.”
This is her main advice for any young person experiencing similar symptoms, especially since colon cancer has become a leading cause of cancer deaths among those under 50. She encourages joining groups like the CCA or Facebook communities to help raise awareness about symptoms.
“You’re not alone in this journey,” she reassures others, whether they’re seeking help for symptoms or undergoing treatment. “There are people out there going through similar experiences who can support you.”
