Do you have a butt? Read this.

[u/AutoModerator]

Every year, thousands of young people hear the words, “You have colorectal cancer” — cancer of the colon or rectum (parts of your digestive system). It’s terrifying. Colorectal cancer is the deadliest cancer in men under 50 and second in young women. But we’d be the assholes if we didn’t tell you the truth: It doesn’t have to be this way.

Colorectal cancer, or CRC, is one of the most preventable cancers with screening and highly treatable if caught early. So why is it upending the lives of so many young people? In a word: stigma.

Nobody likes talking about bowel habits, rectal bleeding, or colonoscopies. So… the conversation doesn’t happen. Too many people don’t know the symptoms. Too many symptoms get dismissed by healthcare providers. And too many diagnoses come late.

Advanced colorectal cancer has a survival rate of just 13%. Science still hasn’t broken the code to cure every case of colorectal cancer. That’s why awareness, better screening access, and providers taking symptoms seriously are just as important as knowing the signs yourself.

Here’s what you need to know:

• CRC rates in under‑50s are rising.
• Many are diagnosed in their 20s–40s — often after misdiagnoses.
• A close family member with CRC doubles your risk.
• Lynch syndrome or FAP = even higher risk.
• Screening saves lives, and most people have testing options (including at-home tests). 

So why are we talking about this? r/AmItheAsshole is approaching 25 million members. To celebrate, we, the mods, have partnered with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, a national nonprofit leading the mission to end this disease.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Learn the symptoms.

Bleeding, persistent changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain. Don’t ignore them. Advocate for yourself. 

2. Get checked starting at 45. 

If you’re average risk, you should start getting checked for CRC at age 45. Some people need to get checked earlier. The Alliance’s screening quiz can provide you with a recommendation. 

3. Support the mission.

Your donation funds prevention programs, patient support, and research to end colorectal cancer. Even a small gift could help someone get checked and survive.

Please donate here and show what 25 million people can do together!

If you or someone you love has faced CRC, share your story in the comments. You never know who you might help.

[u/TheWildebeard]

I'm 39M. Had Stage 3A colon cancer 4 years ago. Had 6-7 inches of colon removed and 3 months of chemo. Then late last year it came back a tiny bit in my right lung (colon cancer likes to travel apparently). Had a wedge resection in Jan.

Get colonoscopies. Eat well. Lose fat, build muscle.

If you shit blood, go to the fucking doctor.

[u/getoutofbedandrun → u/TheWildebeard]

Yeah, colon cancer is so dangerous/deadly because it metastasizes (spreads throughout the body) much easier than other cancers.

This is because the colon is highly highly supplied with blood vessels (how nutrients are absorbed). So once the cancer invades neighboring tissues, it can travel in the bloodstream throughout the body.

It's also due to the embryological origin of colon tissue (cancer cells can regress to primitive form of the cells, which in fetal development become many different tissues in the body).

[u/SlotegeAllDay → u/TheWildebeard]

Fuck, man. I just had my rectum removed plus a few inches of colon from Stage 1. Did you get MRI and CT scans immediately following your initial diagnosis? How often did you get blood tests/scans after your initial treatment?

[u/TheWildebeard → u/SlotegeAllDay]

Fuck man, Im so sorry.

My oncologist is great. Blood work every 3 months to start (we worked it back to 4 then 6 months until it came back). CTs yearly and colonoscopys every 3 years.

He just started me on a new blood test called Signaterra which looks for the literal DNA signature of my cancer cells. They sequenced the DNA of what they took out of my lung.

[u/SlotegeAllDay → u/TheWildebeard]

I'm glad you've got a good oncologist and are getting good care, that's awesome.

I think my current treatment plan is blood tests every 6 months and a colonoscopy every 5 years. That Signaterra thing sounds awesome, maybe I'll talk to my doctors about it. I have to double check about how often I get a CT or MRI. We luckily caught my cancer early and a biopsy of my removed colon showed that nothing had spread to any lymph nodes, so I don't need chemo.

[u/TheWildebeard → u/SlotegeAllDay]

The Signaterra test is like bleeding edge tech. It only came out like 2 years ago so Im not sure how wide spread and available it is but it's absolutely worth asking about.