A 40-year-old woman who survived stage 3 colorectal cancer had three colonoscopies canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Today reported May 17.
Lindy Thackston, a broadcast reporter in Indianapolis, first noticed symptoms in early 2020 including back discomfort, abdominal cramping and bloody stools. Physicians suspected colitis, and when a CT scan showed "signs of inflammation," she was urged to get a colonoscopy.
However, screening was pushed back.
"That got postponed three times because of [COVID-19], but my doctor just kept insisting that I get one," she told Today.
Once she got a colonoscopy, she was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer. She then had 10 rounds of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries. A year after treatment, she's cancer free and is encouraging other young people to know the early signs of colorectal cancer.