At eighteen years old, I was diagnosed with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), a rare hereditary form of colorectal cancer affecting fewer than one percent of all colorectal cancer patients in the United States. In an instant, my life split into two halves: before and after.

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What followed were two life-saving surgeries, a long and nonlinear recovery, and a mental health journey that nobody prepares you for. The fear, the identity loss, the anxiety that lingers long after the physical healing, these are the parts of serious illness that rarely get talked about honestly. I decided to talk about them.

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A Bump in the Road: My Medical Journey over Potholes, Detours and the Bridge to Gratitude is my memoir, a raw, honest account of navigating a rare cancer diagnosis as a teenager, surviving the detours I never saw coming, and finding my way to gratitude on the other side. It is a book for cancer survivors, caregivers, patients living with rare hereditary conditions, and anyone who has ever had their life go sideways and wondered how to find their way back.

 

Today I am a published author, patient advocate, and speaker. I work with the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC) and Fight Colorectal Cancer (FightCRC) to raise awareness for FAP and young-onset colorectal cancer, conditions that are far more common than most people know, and far too often dismissed or misdiagnosed in young adults. My mission is simple: to make sure no one faces this road alone.