Colorectal cancer rates are rising among young adults. So are their anxieties about the disease.

Colorectal cancer rates rising among young adults is a trend that public health officials and researchers are worried about. The proportion of people developing the disease under the age of 50 has doubled since the 1990s. These younger adults accounted for about 13% of all colorectal cancers diagnosed in the United States. in 2023. And high-profile figures with the disease — including former Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek, who was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer in 2024, when he was just 47 — have made it loom large in the public consciousness. Now the threat of colorectal cancer has given rise to a new health anxiety, bordering on a phobia.

What’s happening?

Young adults’ anxieties over colorectal cancer follow years of reports that rates for several types of cancers are rising among that age group. Among those cancers, the spike in colorectal cancers has been especially sharp. In the U.S., the disease was the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women under age 50 in the late 1990s; now, it’s the deadliest cancer for men and second leading cause of cancer death for women in the age group, according to a 2024 American Cancer Society report. A few months later, a study published in the journal Lancet Oncology showed that it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

The news has hit some people hard. That is particularly true for those with generalized anxiety disorder, illness anxiety disorder and people who are worriers in general, psychologist and health anxiety specialist Karen Cassiday tells Yahoo Life. Cassiday has seen the phenomenon among her patients. “Anytime [people in these groups] hear any new, alarming information, that can set them off,” she says. “Brain cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, colon and colorectal cancer or wasting disease are the top three categories” that trigger health anxieties, Cassiday says.

The internet can fan the flames of those worries. After Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer when he was just 43, online searches for colorectal cancer and colon cancer screening surged by nearly 600% and more than 700%, respectively. TikTok videos documenting young adults’ colorectal cancer diagnoses rack up thousands, if not millions, of views. And, while posts sharing cancer journeys can help to raise awareness or provide solidarity, they can also be a mental trap when you’re in the throes of your health anxieties, David Ropeik, a consultant who specializes in risk perception and communication, and author of Curing Cancerphobia: How Risk, Fear, and Worry Mislead Us, tells Yahoo Life. “Personal stories, as moving as they are, are only one piece of information, but they’re not you and they’re not experts” on your individual cancer risks, he explains.

Why colorectal cancer is so anxiety-inducing

In one survey, nearly 60% of Americans said that they feared cancer more than any other disease. One reason is that cancer “feels like it’s something we can’t do anything about — once you get it, you die,” says Ropeik. “But that’s no longer anywhere near medically true.”

The fact that even experts don’t know exactly why colorectal cancer cases are rising among young people further spurs the feeling of uncertainty. And what theories scientists have to explain the phenomenon — such as rising rates of obesity and diets high in ultra-processed foods — only make people feel less in control. “People in their early 40s or 30s who used to have a lot of Cheez-Wiz or Top Ramen in college — those are refined and ultraprocessed, they can’t do anything about that now,” says Cassiday. For young adults looking back on their past choices and youthful indiscretions, it may feel like the damage that puts them at risk for colorectal cancer has already been done.

That concern can lead people to assume the worst, or seek out testing that may be unnecessary. “It’s a response you have, to try to play it safe rather than sorry,” says Cassiday. “We’re hardwired to feel whatever is scariest first,” to try to prepare for whatever horror our imaginations have cooked up, she adds. “But there’s no real way to be prepared for a horrible diagnosis.”

And worry is only further fueled by stark, and not always well-contextualized warnings that colorectal cancer is on the rise. “The flashy or frightening headline is what gets attention,” says Cassiday. And when most of us see a statistic — like colorectal cancer rates doubling since the 1990s — we don’t necessarily realize that the figure applies to the population, not our personal risks.

Most cancers can cause a wide array of subtle symptoms, many of which are experienced by healthy people too, says Cassiday. That’s especially true for symptoms of colorectal cancer, such as diarrhea, changes to stool color or consistency and stomach upset. Diarrhea affects everyone, with most adults experiencing at least one bout a year.

How to combat colorectal cancer phobia — and what not to do

DO: Put the numbers into perspective. Yes, the rate of colorectal cancer has risen dramatically among young adults. But it’s risen from an extremely small share of all cases to a small share of cases. In 2023, adults under 50 accounted for 13% of colorectal cancer cases and fewer than one in 10 deaths from colorectal cancer, according to the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) estimates. About 13 out of every 100,0000 young adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease. That’s the equivalent of 13 people in all of Burbank, Calif.

DON’T: Fall prey to ‘reassurance thinking.’ In the throes of anxiety, it’s common for people to look for examples of others who feel like they do, online or among their friends, says Cassiday. It’s one of the “worst things you can do,” she says. “You’re granting yourself the right to practice medicine without a license.” Instead, seek reliable information from organizations like the ACS, the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or reputable health care providers. And ask yourself “the other what-ifs: What if I’m in great health? What if nothing’s changed for me,” says Cassiday.

DO: Get comfortable with uncertainty. “The normal state for all human beings is not to know how we will die,” Cassiday says. “The ultimate answer to that uncertainty is to live well now.” She adds that doing some “exposure practice” and allowing yourself to think about the scary thoughts briefly without running away or letting them consume you can help you adjust.

DON’T: Run to the doctor. Screening can, and does, save lives. But it can hurt, too, says Ropeik. For one, it gets expensive, especially because your insurance is unlikely to cover the tests or procedures if you’re under the recommended age to start screening (45) and are otherwise at normal risk. Ropkeik warns that over-screening can also lead to even more anxiety-inducing false positives and even to injuries (there’s technically a higher rate of colonoscopy complications than there is of colorectal cancer — though those too are more common among older people).

DO: Watch for real signs. All that said — if you do have new symptoms, such as diarrhea or blood in your stool, that don’t get better over time, you should see your health care provider. And remember that the odds are on your side!