'It gives me hope': Colon cancer survivor says early detection is critical

A good news update on a 38-year-old mom of two with colon cancer.

Earlier this year, we introduced you to Nicole Maier, a Treasure Coast woman who started having stomach cramping last fall. She almost ignored the symptoms, but a check-in with her doctor prompted an early colonoscopy that came with a shocking diagnosis: colon cancer.

Maier has no family history of the disease.

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I checked in with Maier this week. Great news! Her recent testing found what’s called NED, or "no evidence of disease." The margins on her last testing came back clean. So she and her family are celebrating!

Insurance companies start to cover colonoscopies between 45 and 50 years old, but more and more adults younger than that are starting to present with colon cancer.

New tests have been approved that can help with early detection. And several other breakthroughs in colon cancer research are encouraging to patients like Maier.

"To know research is still going into this and finding something new every day, and there's new testing for it, it gives me a lot of hope that anybody else in my position can find it quicker and start treating faster. It gives me hope," Maier said.

"The first thought in a 38-year-old is not colon cancer. It’s colitis, inflammatory disease. Fortunately, she followed up, had her colonoscopy, and was diagnosed," said Dr. Adam Kurtin, Maier's surgeon at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital.

Here are the signs and symptoms you should watch out for:

• Change in bowel habits
• Blood in or on your stool
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• The feeling that the bowel doesn't empty all the way
• Abdominal pain
• Aches or cramps that don't go away
• Weight loss when you don't know why

They call colon cancer "the silent killer" because usually you find out about it when it’s stage 3 or more. So early detection is key.
If you have any of those symptoms, touch base with your physician. As for Maier, every three months moving forward, she will get blood work, just to keep an eye on things. And she will have annual PET scans, as well as annual colonoscopies moving forward.