KALAMAZOO, Mich. — “As a young person you don’t ever think cancer is going to be part of your story,” said Shameka Taylor, a 39-year-old Kalamazoo resident who’s living with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer.

“At first I was angry. I was really angry,” she said. “Why me? Why did this happen? And then I had to stop and I had to think and I had to say, ‘Why not me?’”

Taylor was only 36 in August 2022 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance says she’s not alone.

“People will say, ‘Oh, is it because of the food we eat or where we live or what we’re around?’ But we really don’t know why this alarming increase is happening,” explained Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

Colorectal Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in people who are younger than 50, according to the Alliance, and as it is most screening guidelines recommend getting a colonoscopy once you turn 45.

“Advocate for yourself,” said Taylor. “If you feel like something is wrong, advocate and make sure that you’re getting the tests you need. And if one doctor doesn’t listen have another doctor look it over.”

She said she thought her symptoms were her anxiety and general fatigue from keeping up with her two sons. It wasn’t until she started getting flu-like symptoms every several weeks that she realized something was wrong.

“I never once thought, ‘This could be cancer.’ I had Googled all my symptoms. Which they tell you not to do, and colon cancer came up,” Taylor said. “But it showed that it was more relevant in people who were 70 so I didn’t think that that was me.”

But that’s exactly what the mass was—and it’s what started Taylor on her current cancer journey. To date she’s had chemotherapy, four surgeries and now she’s getting immunotherapy until September 2026.

“The cancer had spread to my pancreas and bile duct and liver area so they’ve had to remove a lot of that and they had to take part of my pancreas out,” Taylor said. “They’ve also had to remove my bile duct and resection my colon. I’ve also had part of my stomach removed and then they reconnected everything back to function.

“I have a very aggressive form of colon cancer and so I just know that I’m okay for three months,” she said. “In three months I could have another scan and my world could be completely upside down again.”

It’s a feeling Howard Robinson II of Portage knows all too well. He’s now been cancer-free for five years but he was also 36 when he was diagnosed with Stage Three in 2020.

“People depend on me,” he said. “I have to be here, you know. It’s not my time yet.”

Robinson says he knew something was wrong when his bowel movements started changing.

“I said, ‘I know my body and I don’t think it’s constipation,” he said of his doctor’s visits. His stool sample and his blood sample both came back fine.

His doctor ordered a colonoscopy and that’s when they found the mass. From there Robinson would endure two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.

“Don’t ignore your body telling you things,” Robinson said. “If I had done that I wouldn’t be here.”

Howard Robinson II of Portage is a Colorectal Cancer survivor. (Howard Robinson II/WWMT)

Neither Taylor nor Robinson have a family history of Colorectal Cancer so the warning signs might not always be evident.

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance says you should watch out for these symptoms:

• Changes in your bowel habits
• Blood in your stool
• Unexpected weight loss
• Night sweats

If any of these symptoms persist for more than two weeks they say it’s time to see your doctor and to ask for a colonoscopy.

“Colorectal cancer overall has about a 60% survival rate,” Sapienza said. “But when you get to late stage, meaning stage three, stage four, where it’s gone to other organs you only have a 13% five-year survival rate.

“Unfortunately what’s happening and these people are having these symptoms, they go into the doctor and the doctor dismisses them,” he said. “And then by the time that they’re diagnosed, they’re late stage.”

The Alliance says everyone-whether you have a family history or symptoms or not-needs to start getting colonoscopies at 45.

“My mom didn’t have her screening, and unfortunately, she got the disease and she died,” Sapienza said.

As for Taylor, she’s continuing with her immunotherapy and looking toward the future.

“There’ve been times where I’ve said, ‘Maybe I just shouldn’t do the treatment,’” she said. “Maybe I should let things take their course and be how it’s supposed to be. But then in real life what does everybody around me do? I can’t give up just because things are hard.”

For helpful resources from the Colorectal Cancer Alliance you can click here and for more information from the American Cancer Society you can click here.