Advocating for herself and her own health led Brooks Bell to seek an early colonoscopy, which led to a colon cancer diagnosis. Now cancer-free for five years, she partnered with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance on Lead From Behind to encourage others to get screened as soon as they’re able.
In 2018, Brooks Bell felt she was in her prime. She was 38, married to her longtime partner, happily living in North Carolina, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Bell was also running a digital analytics agency she founded in her 20s and leading a team of 50 employees.
Everything changed when she was at a business conference and noticed blood in her stool. She immediately hopped on a telehealth call from her hotel room. The doctor told her she was young; it was nothing to worry about.
After two months of having bloody stool, Bell knew something was wrong. She went to a gastroenterologist and had a colonoscopy.
“I had to advocate for myself,” Bell said. “I was bleeding inside. That cannot be a sign of good health.”
That colonoscopy revealed that Bell had Stage III colon cancer. She had an 87% chance of survival.
“I was pretty lucky, even though it was Stage III,” Bell said. “I still had pretty good odds of survival. If the tumor had a chance to go even a millimeter deeper into my colon wall, my odds of survival would have dropped 10 points.”
Cancer treatment
For the next six months, Bell underwent treatment, which included surgery that took out some of her colon and three months of intensive chemotherapy. Her treatment plan took six months in total.
She was then declared cancer-free, but that didn’t mean she was in the clear. There was a chance the cancer would return in the next two years.
“I was deeply anxious,” Bell said. “I had nightmares. I felt like I had to do everything I could to reduce my chance of recurrence.”
She threw herself into high-intensity exercise and learned to cook most of her meals to feel some sense of control. Bell ended up training for and competing in a triathlon. It’s now been over five years, and she’s still cancer-free.
An advocate for early colonoscopies
Bell’s cancer journey inspired her to create Lead From Behind in partnership with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to ending colorectal cancer. Lead From Behind aims to raise awareness about the importance of colonoscopies and early screening. She wants everyone to get checked as soon as they turn 45 — the age some insurances cover the procedure.
“Colonoscopies actually prevent colon cancer,” Bell said. “The procedure doesn’t just diagnose the cancer early on, it can also prevent it.”
Bell explained that before a cancerous tumor forms in the colon, it’s a polyp. Colonoscopies can spot and remove the polyp during the procedure, eliminating the possibility of it becoming cancer.
Bell said she knows many people are scared of getting the life-saving procedure, but she calls it a “spa day.”
“It’s no longer your grandfather’s colonoscopy,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt. You’re actually asleep for only 25 minutes, and it will be the best nap, the best sleep you’ve ever had. It’s not like you’re getting a big scary surgery.”
If you’re under 45 years old, Bell said talking is the most important thing you can do. Talk to your family members to make sure they’re getting tested and learn if there is any history of colon cancer in the family. And talk to your doctor.
“Don’t be afraid to talk about your poop with your doctor,” Bell said. “If you have something weird going on down there, you need to bring it up.”
