As colon cancer rates increase in young adults, former college track and field star shares her story

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- More than a decade removed from her days as a track and field star at Appalachian State, Bianca Harvey is still channeling lessons from her athletic career for a much more important challenge.

"When you play a sport, it teaches you discipline. And so going into this, I felt I was strong. Of course we get weak and stuff like that from treatment, but in my mind I'm always like, 'All right, you got to keep going. You got to keep fighting,'" said Harvey.

At 33 years old, Harvey was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

"It started off as just like a small pain in my stomach, and I just kind of brushed it off. In my eyes, it was no big deal, probably just like cramps or something like that. And then progressively, it got worse and worse as the months went on," said Harvey.

While colorectal cancer cases among older adults have steadily dropped, they've increased among those 50 and younger. According to the American Cancer Society, diagnoses of colorectal cancer in those under 55 years old nearly doubled from 1995 (11%) to 2019 (20%). Since 2011, colorectal cancer rates have been increasing by two percent a year in those 50 and younger.

"We just need to continue this conversation and we need to continue to emphasize that people both advocate for themselves and that physicians and other practitioners in the primary care community are actually willing to screen for patients with a lower threshold below 45 (years old)," said Dr. Nicholas DeVito, a Medical Oncologist at Duke Health.

Symptoms of colon cancer include stomach pain, diarrhea or constipation, blood in the stool, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

"Our therapies are getting better, particularly for patients who are diagnosed earlier. We're getting better at diagnosing patients earlier. But who are the patients for missing? They're the ones that are under 45 who are not getting colonoscopies, whose symptoms are being ignored potentially because they're young and healthy and fit," said DeVito.

While Dr. DeVito notes sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and diet are factors that can play a role, there's a lot out of a patient's control.

"The only risk factor you need for colon cancer is to have a colon. It really can happen to anyone. Our cells divide every day. They fail genetic checkpoints. They fail immune checkpoints, and thus a tumor arises," said DeVito.

Early detection is key. If caught before spreading, the five-year relative survival rates for both renal and colon cancers are about 90%. That figure drops to the mid-70s if it spreads regionally, meaning to nearby structures or lymph nodes. However, if it spreads to distant parts of the body, including the liver or lungs, the survival rate is just 13% for colon cancer patients and 18% for rectal cancer patients.

According to the American Cancer Society, African Americans are 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die from it. For all patients, DeVito said there are promising advancements in treatments.

"In addition to developing targeted therapies and trying to learn how we can use those better, we're really seeing major advancements in immunotherapy that are extremely exciting," said DeVito.

Harvey underwent chemotherapy for sixteen months before transitioning to immunotherapy in November.

"The beginning stages of immunotherapy were rough. But now I feel like my body's completely adjusted and the side effects aren't nearly as bad as chemo," said Harvey.

"I think what we're seeing right now is that there's a subset of patients with microsatellite stable colon cancer, the most common type of colon cancer, that could potentially respond to certain immunotherapies that have been considered like a second generation immunotherapies to the ones in melanoma," said DeVito.

Thursday, DeVito pointed to scans which showed Harvey's progress.

"It's a blessing every time he tells me that my numbers are coming down or the tumors get smaller. I just get so happy because we've just come so far," Harvey said.

Harvey, who has highlighted the importance of family support, has posted about her journey on social media as she works to connect with others.

"It's just really encouraging for me to be inspiring to other people and then y'all being inspiring to me by telling me 'Hey, I couldn't get out of bed this morning, but your video made me smile,' or 'Your video made me want to say, Okay, like I could do better or I need to take my health more seriously.' I think that's what's important. Of course, it's about me getting better, but on a grander scheme of things, it's not just me in this battle. It's a lot of us going through this at a young age," Harvey said.

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