Colon most cancers survivor urges individuals to not dismiss persistent signs: ‘I normalized it’

Maria Kang constructed her profession round health, wholesome consuming and serving to different mothers prioritize wellness. But regardless of believing she had carried out “everything right,” the California mom of three was blindsided by colon most cancers.

Kang, now 46, stated the analysis utterly reshaped her understanding of what it means to be wholesome.

She grew to become an web sensation in 2013 after a photograph of her sculpted physique alongside her three younger sons sparked a world dialog about health and motherhood.

The viral picture — captioned “What’s your excuse?” — led to her being dubbed the “No Excuse Mom” and impressed the launch of lots of of wellness communities world wide.

More than a decade later, Kang’s world was turned the other way up when she discovered that she had stage 4 colon most cancers in November 2023.

“It was definitely a complete shock — because I was the healthiest person I knew,” she shared with Fox News Digital. “I wanted to blame the food, but I didn’t eat bad food. I filtered my water. There was no excuse why I had this cancer.”

Looking again, Kang stated she had skilled persistent digestive issues since adolescence, together with persistent constipation and bloating that worsened with stress.

“It didn’t matter how many fiber pills or laxatives, it just took a long time to go,” she stated. “So that’s been an ongoing journey throughout my life.”

Over the years, Kang stated, she satisfied herself that her digestive issues had been simply one thing she needed to stay with.

“One thing that I realized is that we normalize problems, and we think it’s OK, but it’s not OK,” she stated. “Digestion should be like breathing. It should be like inhaling and exhaling. It should be simple. But it wasn’t simple.”

After a tumor was detected by means of a biopsy after colonoscopy, Kang stated she initially pursued holistic approaches for 12 weeks, however the tumor didn’t shrink and should have grown barely. She then started FOLFOX — a mixture of chemotherapy medication used to deal with some gastrointestinal cancers — in 2024.

After one remedy, Kang went to the emergency room when her colostomy stoma retracted, and a scan reportedly confirmed that the tumor had shrunk considerably. She then requested to cease chemotherapy and proceed with surgical procedure.

Kang later underwent in depth surgical procedure to take away the tumor and a few foot of her colon, together with a number of reproductive organs and her appendix. She briefly required a colostomy and later an ileostomy.

“It was definitely a complete shock — because I was the healthiest person I knew.”

Today, Kang says her MRIs have proven “no suspicious mass detected.” She will get common blood screenings and scans each six months. 

“Much of what remains appears related to postoperative healing and inflammation,” she shared. “Because of my history, my doctors continue surveillance, but I have not been formally declared NED (no evidence of disease).”

Alarming developments

An estimated 158,850 Americans might be recognized with colorectal most cancers in 2026, and round 55,230 individuals will die from the illness this yr, in keeping with the American Cancer Society.

Although colorectal most cancers incidence has declined total — largely amongst older adults, a development linked partially to elevated screening and modifications in sure danger elements — charges are rising in youthful age teams.

Among adults youthful than 50, colorectal most cancers incidence elevated by 2.9% per yr from 2013 to 2022.

The American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advocate that folks at common danger start common colorectal most cancers screening at age 45, though these with sure danger elements may have to start out earlier.

Anyone experiencing persistent or regarding signs ought to seek the advice of a physician, no matter age.

‘I look healthy’

“It was a really big, humbling look in the mirror when you say to yourself, ‘I look healthy, but I’m not healthy,’” Kang instructed Fox News Digital.

“When someone is at a normal range in their weight, they could have cancer. They could have autoimmune issues.”

“We don’t know what’s going on inside of a person. We always just want to look the part versus be the part.”

Wellness redefined

Kang stated her most cancers journey has modified her notion of well being and what’s vital in life.

“Cancer makes everything extremely clear — what’s important, what is not important, what you should eat, what you shouldn’t eat,” she stated. “If you really listen to yourself, it becomes crystal clear when you have no energy.”

Kang stated her health and diet regimens additionally look drastically completely different from her pre-cancer routines.

“I used to train five or six days a week, but now I only move when I want to,” she stated. “Walking is my best friend. I love to dance. I still love to strength-train because it’s fun for me and it makes me strong.”

Perhaps the largest shift is that Kang now not does something that feels compelled: “If there’s anything that I feel forced to do, I don’t do it … If I feel awful, my body’s going to express awful.”

Her strategy to meals has additionally shifted, she shared.

“In the past, there were bad foods and good foods, and cheat days … what I understand now is balance,” Kang stated.

While she does naturally veer towards fruit and veggies — “things that have water and life and light in them” — Kang stated she continues to be open to consuming another meals, together with pizza.

Overall, Kang desires individuals to know that sustaining wholesome habits doesn’t remove the potential for growing most cancers.

“It could happen to anybody — that was the most humbling realization,” she stated.

“You may think you’re young and healthy and this won’t happen to you, but this world is so unpredictable right now. Anything can happen to anybody.”

“Health is not what you think it is,” she stated. “It’s not just how you look. It’s how you feel.”

The American Cancer Society recommends seeing a healthcare supplier about persistent modifications in bowel habits, blood within the stool, stomach ache, unexplained weight reduction or different regarding gastrointestinal signs.

While such signs can have many causes aside from most cancers, they need to be evaluated no matter an individual’s age.