Brinlee Luster and her twin sister, Mariela, do everything together.
They went to the same lecture, studied the same courses, met their husband on the same day and only married two months apart.
But in 2023, Brinlee only had to face a devastating diagnosis.
The 21-year-old from Utah suddenly started to suffer 'serious abdominal cramps' and was so tired that she could hardly complete a walk that usually came as second nature.
Doctors rejected her symptoms such as anxiety, side effects of her contraception or irritable bowel syndrome.
In the midst of planning her wedding and closing the university at Utah State University, Brinlee also resigned the symptoms on stress.
But when her health deteriorated a few months later, a Colonoscopy stage revealed four colon cancer.
Mariela, however, has remained healthy, although she has undergone a colonoscopy to remove polyps that can turn into cancer.
Their case emphasizes the mystery about what causes an explosion of colon cancer in young people.
Brinlee Lust was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer at the age of 21, just before graduating and getting married. She is depicted here with her twins Mariela
Brinlee is depicted here during a treatment. The cause of her colon cancer is unclear, although her doctors suggest that antibiotic use could lie behind the growing cases in young people
Diet, alcohol, obesity and sedentary lifestyles are thought to play a role, but the Brinlee matter suggests that there is something more complex.
Mariela told KSL News: 'Hucking [Brinlee] Go on something that I could not endure, and I could not experience, was just that difficult. '
Brinlee said, “I don't think something you can prepare at that moment when you are told that you have cancer.”
The oncologist of Brinlee, Dr. Mark Lewis of the health of Intermountain, said that an increasing number of his patients is younger than 45 years, the time when doctors recommend a regular screening for colon cancer.
He said KSL News: “Unfortunately, there is really no thing like too young for colon cancer.”
Although doctors still unravel the causes of the American cancer epidemic, Dr. Lewis for that antibiotic use could be completely back to childhood.
He said: 'Antibiotics in childhood and in adulthood can influence the bacteria that cover the colon.
“We are very, very careful with prescribing antibiotics to young people because we know that tens of years later there is at least a slightly increased risk for colon cancer.”
Because Brinlee and Mariela had such a similar lifestyle and dietary habits, it may have played a role in various use of antibiotics in their youth.
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the US and the second leading cause of cancer deaths.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 154,270 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, and 52,900 will die.
This includes 19,550 cases and 3,750 deaths in less than 50.
By 2030, colon cancer will be estimated at the largest cancer killer in patients under 50.
The use of antibiotics has been a growing care in colorectal oncologists, because evidence suggests that the medicines can permanently change the protective bacteria along the intestinal tract.
Antibiotics, prescribed more than 230 million times a year in the US, are intended to kill harmful bacteria, but they also attack the healthy bacteria of the intestine, which regulate digestion and help protect the immune system against infections.
This makes the digestive tract vulnerable for inflammation, which allows cells to be mutated and becoming cancer.
The rates of colorectal cancer in Americans younger than 50 have risen over the past two decades. This graph shows in the last year for which data is available
Brinlee, depicted here, underwent 30 rounds of chemotherapy. She has been in remission since December
Brinlee and Mariela, both depicted here, have started a Sweatshirt brand to offer easy IV access to people who go through chemotherapy
A 2021 study of more than 40,000 people thought that antibiotic use was stronger to colon cancer in younger patients than older patients.
The experts believe that this can be due to a global increase in antibiotic use, because the recipes have risen 46 percent around the world since 2000.
However, experts have also suggested that lifestyle factors such as obesity, diet and physical inactivity can also lead to carcinogenic inflammation in the intestine.
Brinlee underwent 30 rounds of chemotherapy and completed the treatment in December. She is now cancer -free.
Mariela also had a colonoscopy after the diagnosis of her sister, where doctors removed different polyps.
Although much of these are harmless, some can develop into cancer due to abnormal cell growth and mutations.
Mariela said, “I think she really saved my life in a way because I was on my way.”
The twins are working on increasing consciousness and have also made 'The Port Studio', a line of sweatshirts that offer simple IV access to people who undergo chemotherapy.
Brinlee said: 'I don't want to hide that I had cancer. Sharing your story is uncomfortable, but I want to be able to share it so that people can be inspired.
“There is always room for hope.”
