CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute launched a program to help adults under 55 with a colorectal cancer diagnosis. The program, EMPOWER, helps young adults with the resources they need outside of their cancer treatment. 

What You Need To Know

  • According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer diagnoses in people under 55 has nearly doubled from 1995 to 2019
  • Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute launched the program EMPOWER, offering resources to diagnoses young adults
  • Researchers are still looking into the cause of the increase in diagnoses

Dr. Mohamed Salem is EMPOWER’s program leader. 

“Cancer treatment doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Salem said. “You need transportation, you need a nutritionist, you need psychological counseling.” 

According to the American Cancer Society, diagnoses in colon cancer overall have decreased, but diagnoses in people under 55 are going up. 

Salem says younger adults receiving cancer diagnoses often have to deal with added stressors that older adults rarely run into — like raising young kids, trying to buy a home, and starting a career. The EMPOWER program helps with those resources.

Adi Melendez is a program participant. Melendez was diagnosed with stage two colon cancer in November.

“I was with my husband, and I just started crying because you’re 34. You would never think. I don’t have any history,” Melendez said. 

Melendez is an Office Coordinator at Atrium Health One Health. She says having doctors that listened to her and being proactive helped her catch the cancer. She had surgery in December, and is currently on her third round of chemo.

While doing her best to remain positive for herself, and her 8-year-old daughter, Melendez says it is difficult staying optimistic.

“You think about, ‘oh, what if it’s cancer?’ but what if it is? And [if] it is, and you have to take care of that, and [if] you postpone it, then when you go it’s too late," Melendez said.

Experts recommend people at average risk get screened at 45 years old, even when there are no symptoms. 

Dr. Brittany Seminara, a gastroenterologist at Atrium Health, says you often won’t see any symptoms until the cancer has advanced. 

“Look, an afternoon of being a little bit uncomfortable because you’re taking colon prep ...comparing that to a lifelong of memories you might miss, it’s not a big deal,” Seminara said. “Get your colonoscopy and get screened. It’s the most important thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones.”

Researchers are still looking into why colon cancer diagnoses are increasing in young adults, though they believe it to be a culmination of diet, genetics, smoking habits, alcohol intake and the body’s biology.