EXCLUSIVE I was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer at 23 but beat odds... how YOU can spot disease before it's too late
When Emma Dimery was told she had terminal colon cancer at 23, her life was turned upside down.
She had just graduated art college and had a budding career ahead of her - then she was given a diagnosis that meant the odds were against her even making it to her 30th birthday.
'At first the gravity of it all didn't really sink in, I was more concerned with how it would affect my social or dating life,' she told DailyMail.com.
'It took me more than a year to understand that this will be a part of my life forever.'
But miraculously, 12 years on, she is happy and thriving thanks to a clinical trial which helped save her life after numerous round of unsuccessful chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
The artist and illustrator from Minnesota is now sharing her story in a bid to give others hope and to also raise awareness around the signs of colon cancer so it can be caught sooner.
She said that the first symptoms she should have paid more attention to in hindsight were fatigue, weakness, and intense stomach cramps which progressively worsened.
However, it was only during an annual physical that Emma realized there was something seriously wrong with her health.
She revealed: 'I just thought I was burning the candle at both ends. I went to my yearly physical and thought nothing of it when they took blood.
'When I got home, I fell asleep for almost 48 hours, and then woke to my mom calling me repeatedly from outside of my apartment.
'She was in a real panic saying my doctor couldn't get hold of me and I needed to go to the ER immediately.
'From there, after an array of tests, a colonoscopy revealed I had advanced colon cancer. I couldn't believe it.'
Emma revealed that in December 2013, doctors found two tumors in her colon, one the size of a softball and the other the size of a golf ball.
Medics told her it had progressed into stage 4 colon cancer and a treatment plan was immediately drawn up.
Emma's story comes amid an explosion in 'early onset' cancers in the US.
By 2019 the rates in young people were 79 percent higher compared to in 1990.
The five-year survival rate for colon cancer is 64 percent, but that drops to 13 percent if the cancer has spread, which commonly occurs in early-onset cases because symptoms are often not present or are misdiagnosed until the cancer has spread throughout the body.
Symptoms include changes in bathroom habits, blood in stool, weakness, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, a lump in the abdomen or rectum, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, constipation and vomiting.
Blood tests revealed that Emma also had a low red blood cell count.
The American Cancer Society explains that sometimes blood can be seen in the stool or make it look darker, but often the stool looks normal.
'But over time, the blood loss can build up and can lead to low red blood cell counts.'
After being diagnosed, Emma underwent surgery to remove the most affected part of her colon, and then she had chemotherapy for around a year, with breaks in between each round.
Despite these interventions, the cancer continued to spread and Emma had to undergo a partial hysterectomy to removed her uterus in 2016 after the disease hit tissues surrounding her reproductive system.
From there, she kept going with chemotherapy and radiation therapies and she also started immunotherapy.
This treatment approach harnesses the body's own immune system to fight cancer.
Instead of directly targeting cancer cells, immunotherapy aims to boost or modify the immune system to recognize and attack them more effectively.
This treatment can be administered in various ways, including intravenously, through injections and in pill form.
But after a short time experimenting with immunotherapy, Emma's doctor told her about a clinical trial out of the University of Minnesota and this is what she deems a 'game changer'.
In the 2020 trial, led by Dr Emil Lou, cancer cells were retrieved from Emma and altered in a lab using pioneering gene editing technology.
These altered cells, which have a better defense against tumors, were then reintroduced to Emma's body via infusion.
Amazingly, it took just one treatment to see results and she was declared cancer-free two months later.
Dr Lou deemed Emma's response to the experimental trial - which saw 12 participants enroll - as 'remarkable'.
Among the other trial participants, the cancer specialist revealed that several individuals experienced 'stabilization of their disease', which indicated that their tumors had stopped growing.
His team are now looking to build on the success of the gene editing technology and to see how it could be rolled out on a larger scale.
Touching on what her biggest sources of strength have been during her cancer battle, Emma told this website: 'By far my biggest source of strength has been my amazing family and friends.
'My mom, Barbara and big sister, Anne and myself had dubbed ourselves Team Weston (our family name before marriage).
'I met my husband, Andrew about a year and a half after being diagnosed, and he has been steadfastly by my side through everything and I am so, so lucky to have them!'
Research indicates a link between the consumption of red meat and ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of colon cancer.
Emma says since her diagnosis, she has made a conscious effort to cut these from her diet and 'keep in tune' with her body.
Food aside, the brunette says another change triggered by her cancer is her mindset.
She explains: 'Dealing with cancer for more than a decade has taught me what's really important in life, to not take very good day for granted, and to realize how important it is not only be active within this ever growing community of young cancer patients, but to give back however you can.
'In some ways I feel like I'm behind my peers in terms of career and family life, but in other ways, I feel more mature and steadfast.'
Offering advice to others in terms of being alert to cancer, Emma concludes: 'Knowing one's family background or history of cancer is pretty critical.
'If you have a lot of cancer in your family, like I do, I advise paying close attention to your body and getting screened and tested as soon as or as regularly as you can.
'Colon cancer doesn't necessarily show a lot of symptoms until it is somewhat advanced - so for young people, it's harder to detect if something is wrong.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
New once-a-month drug could treat diabetes and obesity, scientists say
A new experimental drug meant to be taken just once a month could lead to 'substantial weight reduction' within a year and help overcome both diabetes and obesity, a new clinical trial suggests. Results of the trial, published on Tuesday in the journal NEJM, show that Maridebart cafraglutide, or MariTide, could reduce body weight by up to 20 per cent within a year. Even after 12 months of taking the drug, weight loss had not plateaued in the participants, indicating there was potential for further weight reduction. The drug, developed by pharma company Amgen, targets the same combination of molecules as popular weight loss jabs like Ozempic as well as another pathway involved in insulin release. Weight loss induced by the new drug was found to be accompanied by improvements in heart health measures such as waist circumference, blood pressure and blood levels of circulating fat molecules. 'The data demonstrates the potential for once monthly or less frequent dosing and are particularly encouraging as we seek sustainable, long-term treatments for people living with obesity, with and without type 2 diabetes,' Ania Jastreboff, a study co-author from the Yale School of Medicine, said. The phase 2 trial included nearly 600 people categorised into two cohorts – one with obesity and the other with obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. The obesity group received MariTide subcutaneously at varying doses of 140, 280 or 420mm every four weeks, with the doses carefully increased every few weeks or months for some. The treatment led to an average 20 per cent weight loss in people living with obesity alone and a nearly 17 per cent mean weight loss in those living with obesity and type 2 diabetes, the study found. 'MariTide's monthly or less frequent dosing has the potential to improve adherence and long-term weight control, providing the opportunity to optimise health outcomes for people living with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related conditions,' said Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen. The trial found some 'mild to moderate' gut-related side effects in people taking the drug. But these gastrointestinal events were mainly limited to initial dosing and were less frequent when the doses were carefully increased without compromising efficacy, they said. There were no discontinuations due to these side effects at any time during the study, however. Researchers are currently evaluating the drug's effectiveness in reducing weight further among those who already lost 15 per cent of their weight in the latest trial. They also hope to test the drug's effectiveness for weight loss among those with heart disease and obstructive sleep apnea.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Trial finds weight loss drug taken monthly helps people lose 20% of body weight
A new trial has found that a weight loss drug taken monthly helps people lose 20 percent of their body weight. Weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have become popular and now there's a new GLP-1 drug, MariTide, being tested that could be competitive in the market. MariTide, from the drug maker Amgen, is different from the other weight loss drugs as it also has a monoclonal antibody, which allows the medication to stay in the body longer, NBC News health and medical reporter Berkeley Lovelace Jr. explained in an article published Monday. The article dives into a new trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers analyzed nearly 600 participants, who were broken up into those with both Type 2 diabetes and obesity and those with obesity. The trial found that those with obesity alone who were treated with MariTide lost up to about 20 percent of their body weight, on average, after 52 weeks. Those with obesity alone who didn't take the MariTide only lost up to 2.6 percent of their body weight, on average. Participants who had diabetes and obesity lost up to 17 percent of their body weight, on average, while taking MariTide, according to researchers. Those with both diseases who weren't on MariTide lost up to 1.4 percent of their body weight, on average. Ozempic and similar drugs can help patients lose 15 to 20 percent of their body weight, according to Columbia University's Department of Surgery. Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications are taken weekly, but MariTide only needs to be taken monthly, making it more convenient for patients. 'It's always just easier for patients to only have to take something once per month,' Dr. Michelle Ponder, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina, told Lovelace. Ponder, who wasn't a part of the MariTide trial, added: 'A lot of patients we see in endocrinology are diabetes patients, and so they'd be taking multiple shots of insulin per day. And so, every last shot matters, even if it's three less shots per month.' MariTide researchers said gastrointestinal issues were 'common' with the drug, but Lovelace pointed out that the drug's side effects were similar to those of other GLP-1 medications.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dietitian: The brutally honest fat loss advice I'd give you if I WASN'T worried about hurting your feelings
An Australian dietitian has delivered a no-nonsense message about why so many people struggle to lose weight. Leanne Ward, a Brisbane-based dietitian and nutritionist, is known for her straight-talking posts on Instagram. But it was a recent one titled 'Warning: this may hurt... but you need to hear it' that cut straight to the heart of the issue. In it, Ward listed the hard truths she often sees behind her clients' struggles, challenging some of the most common explanations people give for not losing fat. 'It's not your metabolism - you're just not consistent,' she wrote. 'A calorie deficit does work - you're just not in one. It's not your hormones - it's the snacking, poor sleep and no structure.' She continued with more wake-up calls: 'You don't need a gut cleanse - you need more fibre, plants and less ultra-processed food,' and 'You're not addicted to sugar - you're under-fuelled, over-stressed and emotionally exhausted.' While the message may sound blunt, Ward isn't dismissing the genuine struggles many people face. In fact, she acknowledged that medical conditions and complex factors do play a role in some cases - but argued that, in her experience, they account for 'the few, not the many'. Her words have sparked a huge response online, with thousands sharing and commenting in agreement. So what does this actually mean for everyday Australians trying to improve their health? The overarching message is simple: consistency matters more than perfection. Many people assume their efforts 'aren't working' after a week or two of healthy eating or exercise, but real change requires months of sustained habits. Tracking food honestly, setting regular meal times, and reducing mindless snacking are all small, tangible ways to get back on track. Ward's reminder about sleep and stress is also crucial. Lack of sleep and high stress levels can throw off hunger signals, fuel emotional eating, and make people crave sugary, high-calorie foods. Creating simple routines around bedtime, incorporating movement into the day, and asking for help when overwhelmed can all make a difference, not just for fat loss, but for overall wellbeing. She also touched on a growing trend: intuitive eating. While it works well for some, Ward warned that if someone is used to overeating, their internal hunger and fullness cues may be unreliable. In those cases, eating 'intuitively' might not be effective until habits and signals are reset. Finally, Ward's post ended with a reality check: 'You say you've tried everything - but you haven't been consistent with anything.' It's a statement that resonated with thousands, and one that many say helped them reflect on their own patterns. In a time when social media is flooded with quick fixes, detoxes, and conflicting advice, Ward's post serves as a much-needed reminder that health doesn't need to be complicated - but it does require honesty, structure, and patience. Her advice may not be sugar-coated, but for many, it might be exactly what they need to hear.
