How much do you know about colon cancer? A single mother has come forward and spoken about her battle with stage four colon cancer in an effort to raise awareness around the warning signs she dismissed. A mother of one, Radwah Oda of Texas, has been juggling raising her son, holding down an office job, and battling her cancer.

She went viral on TikTok when she posted a video about her journey that has garnered over 2.3 million views, sharing the symptoms she overlooked. She has urged the public to take their health more seriously and not ignore these most commonly dismissed symptoms, which are major red flags.

Stool Changes

Radwah began by describing one of her first warning signs of colon cancer. Her bowel habits had changed. She noticed how her stool began to become more pencil-shaped and initially dismissed this, assuming it was just mild constipation.

Another symptom of colon can.cer

She noted that her stool seemed to contain small amounts of blood and attributed this to hemorrhoids. Apparently, this is commonly overlooked. She also mentioned that she never felt like her bowels were completely empty after going to the bathroom. “Every time I used the bathroom, I felt like I still needed to go. I kept pushing and pushing, but nothing would come out,” she described.

Unexplained pain

Another common symptom that is well known in the cancer community is abdominal pain. With colon cancer, this pain can often occur in other areas as the disease progresses. Oda described her pain starting under her right breast, dismissing it as an ill-fitting bra. “I assumed my bra was too tight, even though it was only on one side,” she explained.

This pain she was experiencing was actually an indication that the colon cancer had already progressed to her liver. This alone should highlight the importance of constantly monitoring for unusual pain and seeking medical attention when these symptoms don’t subside, as they could indicate something more serious.

Chronic fatigue

ADVERTISEMENT

Next→