A 39-year-old fitness coach mistook her colon cancer symptoms for IBS

From a very young age, Danni Duncan struggled pinch IBS symptoms.

"I retrieve being possibly astir 5 aliases 6 and really being successful truthful overmuch pain, virtually connected my hands and knees successful the bathroom," Duncan, 40, told Business Insider. She was put connected elimination diets passim superior schoolhouse and diagnosed pinch IBS erstwhile she was astir 11.

Duncan, who lives successful the Gold Coast of Australia, said she grew up eating McDonald's, stiff pizzas, and Pop-Tarts. As an adult, her IBS symptoms improved arsenic she filled her fare pinch full foods and trim backmost connected alcohol. She besides began training for marathons and became a fittingness and nutrition coach.

Then, successful her precocious 30s, she struggled to spell to the bath again. She chalked it up to IBS and started taking Metamucil, a fibre laxative, to trim constipation. She besides felt persistent bloating for months aft giving commencement to her 4th kid successful September 2024.

Eventually, astatine 39, she was diagnosed pinch shape 2 colon cancer.

"It was for illustration I was coming retired of my ain body," Duncan said. "I benignant of giggled and said, 'This can't beryllium true. I'm expected to unrecorded to beryllium 100. That's really patient I am.'"

Severe anemia sewage her diagnosed

When Duncan was astir 20 weeks pregnant pinch her 4th kid successful 2024, her robust levels were the lowest they'd ever been. Even aft an iron infusion, her levels remained low. Still, she said her expert explained it distant arsenic a gestation denotation and suggested robust supplements.

In early 2025, astir 5 months aft giving birth, Duncan started training for a marathon that March. She felt winded for illustration ne'er before.

Even erstwhile she had slept and fueled well, she couldn't get her velocity up. Come marathon day, she dropped retired of the title erstwhile she was three-quarters finished. At the gym, she couldn't decorativeness her sets and knowledgeable dizzy spells successful her kitchen.

The breaking constituent was a period later, successful April 2025, erstwhile she sensed she was going to faint 1 greeting and stumbled onto her couch.

A humor trial astatine the doctor's agency revealed she had a hemoglobin level of 70 g/L, suggestive of severe anemia (a normal level is considered 120 to 160 g/L for big women). She was scheduled for different robust infusion the adjacent time and a colonoscopy 2 weeks later, successful May 2025, to norm retired colon cancer.

The colonoscopy showed a tumor successful her colon.

Duncan, whose 37-year-old friend died from colon crab the twelvemonth prior, initially thought of her kids increasing up without her. "That thought collapsed maine — I had a tear for a second, and past my mind conscionable switched to like, 'What are we doing?'" Duncan said. "'I person to conflict this because I person children.'"

Exercising done chemo broadside effects

Less than 2 weeks aft learning she had colon cancer, Duncan underwent room to region the tumor, including a correct hemicolectomy successful which portion of her colon was taken out. She besides had 17 lymph nodes removed extracurricular her bowel wall, the insubstantial building that forms the mini and ample intestines.

While crab wasn't recovered successful her lymph nodes, it was recovered successful the lymph node channels, starring to her shape 2B diagnosis. It put her astatine higher consequence of recurrence because she was person to shape 3, erstwhile the crab would person officially dispersed to the lymph nodes. Her expert wanted her to do 4 rounds of chemotherapy, considered a modular magnitude of chemotherapy for earlier-stage cancers, to trim that risk.

She tried to instrumentality to her routines, including regular walks, ray bodyweight exercises, and runs connected the weeks she didn't person chemo. Still, utmost fatigue and nausea sometimes wore her down.

She besides developed acold sensitivity, a communal broadside effect from oxaliplatin, her chemo medication. "Everything seizes up," she said. "Your pharynx seizes up, you can't breathe; your look seizes up for illustration you're having a stroke." She wore gloves to unfastened her fridge doorway aliases clasp weights astatine the gym.

The hardest part, she said, was not being capable to breastfeed, arsenic chemo drugs tin beryllium passed connected to the babe done bosom milk. Duncan was diagnosed erstwhile her girl was 7 months aged and had planned connected breastfeeding for acold longer.

"I conscionable loved it and we had specified a awesome connection," she said. "It's surgery my bosom and it still breaks my heart."

A awesome marathon to observe the extremity of treatment

As of November 2025, Duncan's CT scans and colonoscopy nary longer showed signs of cancer. Going forward, she has 3 much monthly humor tests and will person yearly CT scans and colonoscopies each 2 years.

In immoderate ways, Duncan said life aft crab has been much challenging than the curen itself. "When you're successful the throes of cancer, you've sewage specified a focus," she said. "Once it's finished, group extremity checking successful because you're cancer-free now. That's erstwhile the intelligence struggle is astir apt harder."

Duncan, who turned 40 during treatment, is now training for the New York City Marathon, which she planned to tally successful 2025 but was forced to postpone. It's a longtime dream of hers because she recovered retired she was pregnant pinch her first kid successful New York City.

Duncan will tally it pinch her hubby connected behalf of the Jodi Lee Foundation, a colon crab statement successful Australia.

From some her individual acquisition and defense work, Duncan said she's go much alert of the rising rates among young group and the value of getting symptoms for illustration changes successful bowel movements checked retired if they're different for you.

"Stand up for yourself. Be like, 'I'm not excessively young,'" she said. "If you've sewage symptoms, push, find different doctor."

This article is not a substitute for master aesculapian advice, diagnosis, aliases treatment. Always consult your qualified expert aliases healthcare provider.