A man who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer has talked candidly about the warning flags he was aware of prior to receiving his diagnosis.
Joe Faratzis acknowledged that he had “put these symptoms off for months” and detailed the warning indications that he was dealing with a serious illness.
For more details, he revealed on TikTok that he ignored the warning flags and ultimately chose to have a colonoscopy.
He is now advising people not to “risk your life by waiting to see a doctor” and that “early screening could save you and your family.”
He disclosed that he was diagnosed five years ago at the age of 28, and that his symptoms began in 2019.
The TMZ producer admitted that he disregarded a CT scan and his doctor’s concerns because, at the time, he believed the symptoms weren’t severe.
He believed he was unbeatable, according to Self Magazine.That is, until he could no longer ignore the signs and made the decision to share them with others who might also be ignoring alarming signals.
Sweating and sweating at night
“Night sweats, weight loss, pain, chronic anemia, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of energy” are all indicators of advanced colon cancer, according to Cathy Eng, MD, Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who spoke to Patient Power.
This suggests that the cancer has either spread or progressed to a stage where it is more difficult to treat.
Pain in the lower right abdomen
According to Healthline, where you feel pain can reveal where cancer is located on your colon.
For example, the lower right section contains the ascending colon, also known as “the first part of your colon that attaches to your small intestine.” The stool is raised.
Frequently using the restroom
“I should have been more aware of the fact that I was using the restroom far more frequently than I should have, probably a few times a day,” he stated.
cramps in the abdomen when bending over
He revealed that he experienced pain whenever he bent over, but he brushed off his CT scan and thought it was a minor condition.
Cramping and constipation
Despite the NHS’s assertion that colorectal cancer may change your bowel habits, the MC Anderson Cancer Center states that constipation and diarrhea are both clear signs of the disease.
Stool containing blood
Six months later, he brushed off the blood on his toilet paper, assuming it was from hemorrhoids, or piles.
However, the primary indicator that something wasn’t quite right was approaching.
“The big catalyst that motivated me to take my symptoms seriously occurred a few months later,” the 34-year-old revealed. I passed gas while seated on the couch, and as I looked down, I noticed blood.
There was around a half cup of blood in the toilet when I went to the restroom. I thought, “Holy f–k — obviously there’s some issue here,” even if it wasn’t unpleasant.
According to Faratzis, he received intravenous and oral chemotherapy during his tests, had surgery to remove malignant portions of his colon, and had procedures to burn and freeze lesions that had developed on his liver and lungs.
Thankfully, after his therapies began, his health began to improve, and he got his first clear CT scan in 2023.
He can now “kind of forget about this for another three months” until his next scan, as he celebrated a complete year of clear scans in April of this year.
“If I got the CT scan back in 2019 when I had my earliest colorectal cancer symptoms, I might not have wound up in the position I’m in now,” he said, acknowledging that he could have avoided finding himself in such a terrible scenario.
He has since turned into a proponent of early detection after his ordeal, telling viewers that “it turns out that having a functioning rectum is actually vital for your quality of life.”
