When she thought life would not be busy, the New Jersey mother of six Elaine Griffin was diagnosed with stage 2B colon cancer.
“I was very shocked. I think the doctors were like that because they didn't affect anyone in the mid-'40s,” Griffin told the Post.
Colorectal cancer is on the rise among people under the age of 50. This is an inexplicable trend among doctors. Griffin was 44 years old, but doctors discovered that the 4.3 centimeter-long tumor had broken through the wall of the sigmoid colon, part of the large intestine that connects to the rectum.
The Hamilton Square resident underwent surgery and chemotherapy before being declared cancer in September 2024.
March's existence Colorectal Cancer Awareness MonthGriffin shares her story in the hopes of inspiring others to sign up for colonoscopy, the most effective way to diagnose colon cancer.
“One of the things I did was sort of billing in my life,” recalls Griffin. “I prayed to God and said, 'If you let me live, I'll do whatever I can to make sure other people have this information.' ”
Griffin, who had no history of colon cancer in her family, reveals four main indications that she urged her to seek medical assistance in the spring of 2024.
“The glass that passes through my intestines”
The “terrifying thing” for Griffin was that her symptoms would turn into waves. In the fall of 2023, she noticed some food intolerance. She appeared to have a gluten allergy, despite her not having one.
Griffin recorded digestion troubles in his notebook to see if a particular food caused the problem.
She was born without a gallbladder, so she always took care of her diet, and in 1993 the appendix was removed. Processed oils have been struggling for 30 years.
“It was one of those things I knew something was going on, but I didn't know anything other than 'OK, maybe I'm just getting older',” Griffin said.
After experiencing several times after breakfast “it felt like a glass was passing through my gut,” she removed dairy products from her meals, bread, pasta and grains.
Even when she ate raw food or meat, the serious convulsions persisted.
Unintended weight loss
In January 2024, Griffin lost 20 pounds.
“I wasn't trying to lose weight or consciously trying to lose weight,” she said. “I've started to associate food with pain.”
Griffin's symptoms rose from January to March 2024, and he was tested at RWJ Barnabas Health.
Fatigue
“My normal speed is pretty fast,” said Griffin, associate director of the research department at Rutgers School of Environmental Biological Sciences.
Griffin has three biological daughters and three stepdaughters. Their age ranges from 10 to 32.
“I started to get more exhausted doing something very normal and climbing stairs, walking down the hallways, something that never causes stress,” she said.
Blood in the stool
The undeniable condition that Griffin couldn't dismiss was the blood of her stool.
“I had quite often had sudden, sudden stomachaches, and my abdomen was getting enlarged,” explained Griffin. “Sitting, standing and using the bathroom was extremely difficult. I started to notice blood with every bowel movement.”
Her poop was narrow, known as the “thin pencil stool,” and she was not relieved to use the bathroom.
Incomplete colonoscopy
Griffin's fear was confirmed when the doctor failed to complete his colonoscopy. The tumor was interfering with her colon.
She was diagnosed with stage 2B colon cancer in April 2024. This means that her cancer had spread beyond her colon wall, but not to lymph nodes or distant organs.
“If she delayed seeking a doctor, she would have developed a complete colonic obstruction soon, and would require removal by colostomy (which would have been reversible in the end).” Dr. Charles Eisengarta surgeon at Hamilton, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, told the post.
Eisengart removed the base of her sigmoid colon and removed the tumor from her body. Griffin didn't need a bag of scavenging to collect waste, but he needed chemotherapy.
She was given oral and infusion chemotherapy and was declared cancer free after doctors completed colonoscopy in September.
“I tried to live as normal as possible, even with chemotherapy,” Griffin said. “I missed a few things, but not a lot. I think there were better days than bad days. I think people need to hear that.”
Looking ahead
As if Griffin wasn't busy enough, she launched a campaign by April to register 2,000 people for colonoscopy.
Over 1,400 people completed the screening. There are 100 people scheduled for the middle of January.
Griffin said cancer was detected in two people through the movement. A family friend was diagnosed with stage 2A colon cancer, and decided that Europeans had early stage stomach cancer.
Guidelines suggest Those at average risk of colon cancer will begin screening at 45. People with a family history may need to start earlier and test more frequently. Early detection is important to significantly improve treatment outcomes and survival.
“The tumor I actually removed had grown over a decade,” Griffin pointed out. “I had no clue. That's why colonoscopy is so important. I knew something was changing, but I wasn't really sure.”
