Colon cancer: Phoenix area woman shares her battle during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

PHOENIX - March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and these days, an alarming number of young adults are getting the devastating diagnosis.

One Phoenix area woman who had no family history and maintained a healthy lifestyle got that diagnosis, and she is sharing her story.

"You don’t want to believe it, of course, but then, really worried. Scared," Lorena Gillen said.

At just 34 years old and 24 weeks pregnant, Gillen got a devastating diagnosis: she had Stage Four colon cancer.

"It was hard for me even to sleep," Gillen said. "The pain was, like, really, really bad. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. I knew something is wrong."

During her pregnancy, Gillen was told that the pain was normal. She got another opinion.

At 30 weeks pregnant in 2017, Gillen gave birth to her daughter. A few weeks later, she began treatment. However, when that treatment in California was not going as planned, the Valley native reached out to Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

"If I hadn’t come back to Phoenix and started going to Mayo Clinic, I wouldn’t be here," Gillen said.

Gillen has been with her team at Mayo Clinic in Arizona since 2019. Today, her daughter who she carried when she was pregnant is seven years old.

"I know, I know I’m going to be here for them," Gillen said about her daughters. "At first, I didn’t think I would see my little one start kindergarten. Now she’s a first grader, I didn’t think I’d see my oldest graduate high school. Now she’s a college kid."

Dr. Christina Wu with Mayo Clinic specializes in gastrointestinal cancer.

"I don’t think we fully understand," Dr. Wu said about younger people getting diagnosed with colon cancer. "I think there are likely environmental factors that are related to this."

Diet and a sedentary lifestyle could also be a reason younger people are getting diagnosed, but more research needs to be done.

"Recently, Mayo Clinic Arizona has just started an early onset and hereditary GI cancer program, where patients under the age of 55 are eligible for this program," Dr. Wu said.

"If you feel something is not right with your body, even if doctors tell you this is normal, get a second, third or fourth or fifth opinion," Gillen said.

Lorena Gillen

Gillen is grateful that she continued to ask questions and search for better care.

"I’m just thankful to live another day," Gillen said. "Like when I was losing my hair, every single strand of hair is a day that I gain. That’s how I look at it."

At one point, there was a tumor in her brain, but it’s gone now. Every three weeks, the now 41-year-old Gillen receives chemotherapy, and she will likely need some kind of treatment for the rest of her life, However, the treatment plan she is on is working, at least for now.