She thought it was a stomachache. It was Stage 3 rectal cancer at 26.
USA TODAY
An advanced cancer diagnosis didn't stop this 26-year-old from finding humor as she went through treatment.
Lauren Ver Steeg isn’t afraid to crack a butt joke.
After being diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer at 26, she’s made a conscious effort to talk openly about the often-taboo topics that surround the disease.
“A lot of the time you just have to laugh your way through it,” she told USA TODAY. “Nobody wants to talk about poop or think about poop, but I think the more we just make it a normal topic of conversation and can find ways to laugh about it… it just gets easier to talk about.”
Rectal cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the rectum, which is the last several inches of the large intestine, according to Mayo Clinic. Since rectal and colon cancers are similar in many ways, they're often referred to together as colorectal cancer, the clinic adds.
Now, Ver Steeg, is sharing her story to help raise awareness amid Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, observed in March, along with the V Foundation for cancer research.
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