07/22/2025
“I don’t need to send your results off to pathology to know you have cancer.”
That’s what Jenna Scott heard when she finally got a colonoscopy; one year after her symptoms began during pregnancy. She was just 31 years old, active, healthy, a new mother…and suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
Jenna’s story is heartbreaking; but sadly, not uncommon.
As someone who has spent the last two decades advancing equity in colorectal cancer prevention and early detection, I see stories like Jenna’s far too often.
Symptoms misattributed.
Voices overlooked.
Diagnoses delayed.
All wrapped in systems not designed to protect those who need it most.
But what makes Jenna exceptional is not just what she's endured; it's how she's fought to live, raise her son, and stay whole through the unimaginable.
Through surgeries, chemo, the mental toll, and even job loss, she’s continued to lead, uplift, and represent what resilience looks like in the face of health injustice.
Her story is a masterclass in vulnerability, strength, and the urgent need for systemic change in how we view and treat young people—especially Black women—with risk.
Here’s what Jenna reminds us:
🧠 Symptoms must be taken seriously, no matter your age.
📢 We must elevate the lived experiences of patients, not silence them.
🧬 And yes, health equity means listening earlier, diagnosing sooner, and acting faster.
To my fellow researchers, funders, clinicians, and policy advocates: we can’t build an equitable future for CRC without stories like Jenna’s at the center.
Please read her powerful interview in PEOPLE below, and ask yourself:
How are we making it easier, not harder, for the next Jenna to be heard?
Because no one should have to fight this hard just to be taken seriously.
🙏🏾 We see you, Jenna. We fight with you.
🔗 Full story via PEOPLE: https://people.com/mother-diagnosed-with-stage-4-colon-cancer-in-early-30s-exclusive-11762637
