Colon and Rectal Surgery of New York

Colon and Rectal Surgery of New York For the past 20 years, Dr. Lynn M.

O’Connor has made it her mission to provide patients with the foremost treatment, technology, and information related to preventive public health issues, and colon and rectal health.

"I'm only 34. It's probably nothing."I've heard that more times than I can count. And I understand it — colore**al cance...
04/30/2026

"I'm only 34. It's probably nothing."

I've heard that more times than I can count. And I understand it — colore**al cancer doesn't fit the mental image most young people have of themselves.

Young patients don't have worse outcomes because the cancer is more aggressive in them. They have worse outcomes because the cancer has more time to grow before anyone takes the symptoms seriously.

That's a solvable problem.

The tools we have now — robotic surgery, immunotherapy, targeted treatments — have fundamentally changed what a colore**al cancer diagnosis means.

Most patients are back to their normal routines within weeks of surgery, not months.

What hasn't changed is the window. Re**al bleeding, shifts in bowel habits, unexplained anemia, persistent bloating, unintentional weight loss.

These symptoms get explained away as hemorrhoids, stress, a busy life, getting older.

That rationalization is exactly what the cancer is counting on.

You don't have to be 45 to deserve answers. If something feels wrong, ask.

P.S. This is the first in a five-part series on what I wish more people knew about colore**al cancer — the myths, the warning signs, and what it actually looks like to catch it early. Follow along.

What I see in the operating room doesn't stay there.It follows me into grocery stores. Into conversations with loved one...
04/29/2026

What I see in the operating room doesn't stay there.

It follows me into grocery stores. Into conversations with loved ones. Into the way I think about the meals that feel completely ordinary until they aren't.

Red meat is one of the most common dietary risk factors for colore**al cancer that almost no one talks about.

It damages the colon lining through oxidative stress from heme iron. It generates carcinogenic compounds when cooked at high heat.

And the research on how much is too much is more specific than most people realize — the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends no more than three 4-to-6 ounce servings per week.

That's less than many Americans eat across just a few meals.

I'm not telling you to never eat a steak.

I'm telling you what I know from being the person called in when the damage is already done.

The line between a normal diet and a risky one is thinner than it looks.

I operated on a 25-year-old last month.She had been told her re**al bleeding was hemorrhoids. For months. By her own doc...
04/22/2026

I operated on a 25-year-old last month.

She had been told her re**al bleeding was hemorrhoids. For months. By her own doctor.

She advocated for herself. She knew something was wrong.

When she finally got to me, we found a precancerous polyp.

We caught it. This time.

She was 25. Nobody in her life thought colore**al cancer was even a possibility.

Colore**al cancer in people under 50 has increased by nearly 50% over the last two decades.

In my practice alone, I have seen a significant uptick in the number of cases of those under 45 last year.

We are not screening this age group routinely — which means when it's caught, it's often caught late.

Most of them had reported symptoms.

The one that gets missed most often isn't bleeding. It's iron-deficiency anemia — fatigue so gradual that patients spend months being told they're just stressed or not sleeping enough, while a tumor quietly bleeds into the colon.

Re**al bleeding is not hemorrhoids until someone looks. And at 25, most people never get that far.

We caught hers in time. Not everyone gets that.

Every week in my OR, I operate on patients who didn't know they were high risk.They had a parent with colore**al cancer....
04/21/2026

Every week in my OR, I operate on patients who didn't know they were high risk.

They had a parent with colore**al cancer. A sibling. Two aunts.

Nobody told them that it qualified as a family history, which could double or triple your risk of colore**al cancer.

Nobody told them to start screening by age 40 or 10 years younger than the youngest family member was at diagnosis.

Nobody told them a stool test wasn't going to catch what was already growing, and it's better to go with a colonoscopy.

You can reduce that risk by making lifestyle changes, such as what you eat, and avoiding alcohol and smoking.

If any of the following apply to you, you need to talk to a physician now:
— A first-degree relative diagnosed with colore**al cancer under 60
— Two or more first-degree relatives diagnosed at any age
— Re**al bleeding, changes in bowel habits, or unexplained anemia

This is a preventable cancer. Send this to someone with a family history.

04/16/2026

She told me her goal is to live to 120.

She's 80, she exercises, she watches what she eats and drinks, and when something felt off, she came in without hesitation.

We found a precancerous polyp and removed it.

I learn something from her every time she comes in. Today, I'm letting her do the talking.

Watch her tell it herself.

04/15/2026

My patient is 80 years old. She had symptoms. Routine colonoscopies aren't recommended after 75. She came in for her screening anyway.

We found a precancerous polyp and removed it.

Here's what I keep thinking about: She almost didn't come in. Yes, the guidelines exist for a reason ... but so do symptoms. She was healthy, she was paying attention to her body, and she refused to let "you're past the screening age" be the end of the conversation.

That decision may have just changed the course of her life.

Tomorrow she's going to tell you — in her own words — what made her pick up the phone. I'll let her take it from there.

I’ve removed tumors that didn’t have to be there.Most of them came from bodies that were never screened, never moved eno...
04/07/2026

I’ve removed tumors that didn’t have to be there.

Most of them came from bodies that were never screened, never moved enough, never told that their daily choices were quietly changing their risk — for better or worse.

The research is clear: Regular physical activity reduces colore**al cancer risk by up to 24%.

Movement lowers insulin levels, reduces systemic inflammation, and accelerates gut transit time — less contact between carcinogens and your intestinal wall.

Every day you move, you are changing your biology.

30 minutes. Most days. That’s what the evidence supports. Not a training program. Not a transformation. A consistent, non-negotiable habit.

And then get screened.

Exercise won’t catch a polyp that’s already there. Screening will. Average risk starts at 45. Earlier if it runs in your family. A polyp removed in a procedure is a cancer that never happens.

I’ve had both conversations — the one where we caught it early, and the one where we didn’t.

I operate on both.

One is a much harder morning for everyone in that room.

On this World Health Day, I have one ask. Don’t wait for that appointment to be your motivation.

04/06/2026

I operate on colore**al cancer.

I’ve had the conversations no one wants to have. I’ve delivered diagnoses that changed lives in an afternoon. I’ve seen what late-stage disease looks like — in the OR and in a family’s face.

So, when I meal prep on Sunday, it’s not a wellness trend. It’s personal.

This week: quinoa. Simple. Intentional. Built around fiber.

Here’s what I want my patients (and everyone else) to understand: Colore**al cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.

It is also one of the most diet-preventable cancers we know of. A high-fiber diet feeds a healthy gut microbiome, reduces chronic intestinal inflammation, and accelerates transit time — all of which meaningfully lower your risk.

I see what happens when prevention fails.

That shapes how I eat, and it shapes what I tell every patient who asks me what they can do.

You don’t need a perfect diet. You need a consistent one. Start with fiber. Start with real food. Start before you ever need someone like me.

Get screened. Eat well. Don’t wait.
Questions about gut health or colore**al cancer risk? Ask me below

You’re 34. You Googled your symptoms at 2am. And now you’re sitting across from me not sure if you’re overreacting.You’r...
04/01/2026

You’re 34. You Googled your symptoms at 2am. And now you’re sitting across from me not sure if you’re overreacting.
You’re not.

Here’s what I tell every young patient who comes into my office nervous about getting a colonoscopy:
Your body is not dramatic. It does not send signals for no reason.

Blood in your stool. Changes in your bathroom habits. Unexplained fatigue. Bloating that won’t quit.
These are not small things. These are not things we wait on.

Colon cancer is now the #1 cause of cancer death in adults under 50 in the U.S. — and it is rising in people your age who thought the same thing you’re thinking right now.
“I’m too young for this.” “It’s probably nothing.” “I’ll wait and see.”

I have had the conversations that happen when people wait. I never want to have them again.

A colonoscopy is one day.

Finding something too late is forever.

You coming into my office is not overreacting. It is the bravest and smartest thing you can do for yourself right now.

If your body is talking — please listen to it.

Share this with someone who keeps putting it off. You might be sending them exactly what they needed to see today.

Last week, I picked up purple yams at the grocery store — not because they're trendy, but because the science behind the...
03/30/2026

Last week, I picked up purple yams at the grocery store — not because they're trendy, but because the science behind them is something I wish more of my patients knew before they ended up in my OR.

Purple yams contain anthocyanins, the compound responsible for that deep violet color. It is also one of the most potent anti-inflammatory agents we have found in food — and chronic inflammation is at the root of nearly every colore**al disease I treat.

Their fiber and natural resistant starch feed the gut microbiome in ways that most foods cannot, and a thriving microbiome is one of your body's primary defenses against colore**al disease.

Colon cancer is now the #1 cause of cancer death in adults under 50 in the U.S. The rates are rising in younger patients.

And the vast majority of those cases begin with years of silent inflammation that the right diet can actually interrupt.

No single food prevents cancer. But the pattern of what you eat every day either protects your colon or slowly compromises it.

That is not an opinion. That is what I see in the OR.

If you are under 50 and have never thought seriously about colore**al health: Start now. Talk to your doctor. Know your risk. Pay attention to what you eat.

The best surgery is the one you never need.

I went on FOX 5 NY Good Day, New York this month to say something I wish more doctors said out loud:Colon cancer doesn't...
03/26/2026

I went on FOX 5 NY Good Day, New York this month to say something I wish more doctors said out loud:
Colon cancer doesn't care how old you are.

T.Whitlow gave me the platform and I used every second of it — because I see what happens when this disease gets missed in younger patients.

It's not pretty. And it's happening more than most people realize. Colore**al cancer rates in adults under 50 have nearly doubled since the 1990s. We are not talking about it enough.

Here's what I need you to know if you're 45 or younger:
The symptoms are easy to dismiss. That's exactly why they're deadly.
🔴 Blood in your stool or re**al bleeding
🔴 Bowel habits that have changed and won't go back to normal
🔴 Cramping or abdominal pain that lingers
🔴 The constant feeling that you haven't fully emptied
🔴 Fatigue or weight loss you can't explain

If any of this sounds familiar — please don't talk yourself out of it. Don't let someone else talk you out of it either. If a doctor brushes you off, find another doctor. A second opinion is not an insult to your physician. It might be the decision that saves your life.

I've dedicated my career to colon and re**al surgery because with the right awareness, so many of the outcomes I've witnessed don't have to happen.

This month gave us a megaphone. Now I'm asking you to pass the message on.

Tag someone who needs to read this. It takes two seconds and it might matter more than you know.

🔗 to full interview in the comments.

03/23/2026

I promised you another healthy recipe that is part of my go-to meal prep options.

This week, I am taking you behind the scenes of my meal prep last night. I cooked up a sautéed vegetable medley — and this plate is doing more work than you think.

Here’s the science in plain English:
Fiber sweeps your colon clean before damage can set in
Phytonutrients fight inflammation at the cellular level
A variety of vegetables = a diverse microbiome = your body’s best defense against colore**al disease

This isn’t a wellness trend. This is biology.

Most of the patients I treat were never told that what they eat every day is either protecting them or quietly setting the stage for disease.

I’m telling you now.

No surgery. No referral. Just a pan, some vegetables, and a decision to show up for yourself today.

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