Colorectal cancer patient Megan McNair speaks with oncologist Katherine Van Loon, MD (left), while receiving an infusion at UCSF. Photo by Noah Berger
Megan McNair, aged 29, had just given birth to her second child. It should have been a happy time. Instead, it was the worst: she was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, the most severe form of the disease.
“They said I had five years to live,” McNair said. “I felt broken. How could this be? I was so young. How was I going to take care of my children?”
Colorectal cancer has long been considered a disease of older people, but for largely mysterious reasons, it has overtaken other common cancers and become the top cancer killer in people under age 50. The prevalence has more than doubled in the last 30 years for younger adults. In 2023 more than 3,900 Americans aged 20-49 died of the disease.
As rates surge globally, UCSF Health has launched a program for young adults with the disease, the first on the West Coast.
The UCSF Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Program focuses on the medical and life-stage issues of younger patients, who often have different needs and concerns from older patients. It will connect patients to specialized teams, integrating clinical care, patient navigation, and supportive services.
“For years, we’ve seen patients getting younger and younger,” said co-director Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH, an oncologist and director of the UCSF Global Cancer Program. “Patients face this terrifying diagnosis at a time in life that collides with careers, relationships, raising families. They can face financial repercussions, stress on their young children, impacts on fertility and sexual health. These are the patients that keep me awake at night.”