Doctors Told Her She Was Too Young for Colon Cancer. She Was Diagnosed at 32

After doctors initially told her she was too young to have colon cancer, Azucena Reyes (pictured above) was diagnosed with stage 3B at age 32. Photos courtesy of Azucena Reyes Colorectal cancer is rising fastest among Hispanic and Latino adults younger than 50, highlighting the importance of recognizing symptoms regardless of age. Azucena Reyes was diagnosed with stage 3B colon cancer at age 32 after doctors initially told her she was too young and did not fit the typical profile for the disease. Experts say anyone with warning signs of colorectal cancer should seek medical evaluation, even if they are younger than the recommended screening age of 45. In August 2015, Azucena Reyes dropped her youngest son off for his first day of pre-K while she pushed through intense nausea that she had been dealing with for months. The next day, the nausea was accompanied by strong stomach pain that landed her in the hospital. “I thought my ovary burst, but it was actually a tumor,” she told Healthline. For the next three months, she navigated having the tumor removed and being told it couldn’t be cancerous because she was only 32 years old and Hispanic. “They told me, ‘You have a very, very sli…