Young Mom’s Colon Cancer Battle Highlights Symptoms Doctors Dismissed

TODAY profiles Sarah Beran, a 34-year-old mom who was told her fatigue and GI symptoms were likely IBS or a parasite. A worsening symptom—blood in stool—led to a colonoscopy that found 100+ polyps and a rectal mass. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, had her colon removed with an ileostomy, then six more chemo rounds and radiation after cancer spread to the lungs; she is now cancer-free but under ongoing surveillance. Beran later helped launch Worldclass, a Western North Carolina nonprofit that funds colonoscopies, highlighting that colonoscopy can prevent cancer by removing polyps and underscoring the need for patients to advocate for their own health.