Warning: This article discusses cancer, which may be upsetting for some readers.
Dr. Lauren Juyia, a gynecologist from Florida, has shared her experience of discovering her own cancer at the age of 37 and the two key symptoms that indicated something was amiss.
As of this month, Dr. Juyia is relieved to report that no cancer is present in her body. However, her story was very different two years earlier.
In August 2022, Dr. Juyia began to observe a few changes in her body. Her medical knowledge prompted her to seek further investigation.
She visited HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital, where an ultrasound uncovered large masses in her ovary.
Within just a fortnight, the mass had grown from eight centimeters to approximately 24 centimeters, something Dr. Juyia had ‘never seen’ in her professional career.
In a 2023 interview with Good Morning America, Dr. Juyia mentioned, “I had never seen anything benign, meaning not cancer, grow that fast before. So we kind of knew, deep down, that this was not going to be good. And we suspected ovarian cancer of course, because it was the ovaries being the masses.”
The subsequent month, the masses extended to her ovaries, uterus, omentum, appendix, and abdominal region, leading to a scheduled surgery for removal.
However, Dr. Juyia only later learned she had been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that colon cancer often presents several symptoms, such as changes in bowel habits, blood in stool, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, or unexplained weight loss.
However, Dr. Juyia did not exhibit these symptoms to a significant degree.
Instead, the symptom that led her to consult a doctor was noticing ‘pelvic heaviness’ which developed into a ‘pelvic mass’.
“Having a background in obstetrics, we describe size by weeks of pregnancy and so I was like, ‘Oh my god, I have a 16-week-size mass.’ From experience, I could tell that this was my ovary,” Dr. Juyia stated.
Reflecting on her experience, she also mentioned experiencing ‘a little bit of fatigue’ in the time leading up to her ultrasound.
“I was a little tired in the afternoon for about two months previous to this and as a mom with two little kids – I had been recently nursing them, they were still waking up in the night, I work full time – I didn’t think anything of saying, ‘Oh, I think I need a tea in the afternoon’. Whereas maybe someone in their 50s or 60s would be much more tired from stage 4 tumors taking up their energy,” she explained.
After her diagnosis, Dr. Juyia began chemotherapy while continuing to work, using it as a distraction from her cancer.
By March 2023, she underwent another surgery and was declared free of disease.
She continues to share her journey online, urging others to seek colon cancer screenings if they notice unusual symptoms.
“People that are younger than the screening age (45) should still be paying attention to our symptoms because we’re not eligible for screening usually,” she advised. “We might not have any symptoms because we are young, our bodies are more resilient. We can tolerate more symptoms.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and wish to speak to someone confidentially, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.