Marisa Peters, a vibrant Los Angeles mother of three and former Broadway vocalist, experienced a terrifying dismissal of her worsening health. What began as bleeding after the birth of her first son slowly escalated into a relentless ordeal, a silent scream ignored by medical professionals for years.
The blood wasn’t just a spot; it filled the toilet. Urgent, constant trips to the bathroom became the norm, accompanied by alarming changes in her stool. Yet, each time she voiced her fears, she was met with a frustratingly common refrain: “Your body changes after having babies.” Her concerns were minimized, brushed aside as a natural consequence of motherhood.
Unbeknownst to her, Marisa’s body was sending desperate signals. She was “checking every single box” for colorectal cancer, including developing severe anemia, a fact she wouldn’t discover until much later. The medical community, she learned, hadn’t yet grasped a chilling truth: the face of colorectal cancer was changing.
For five long years, Marisa endured this cycle of symptoms and dismissal, even while welcoming two more children into her life. The bleeding never ceased, a constant, haunting reminder that something was terribly wrong. Finally, driven by unrelenting persistence, she sought the opinion of a gastroenterologist.
The doctor’s reaction was immediate and stark. “She was stunned and shocked by what I shared,” Marisa recalled, a moment etched forever in her memory. Subsequent tests confirmed her deepest fears: stage 3 colorectal cancer, fueled by a 5-centimeter tumor in her rectum.
The following eleven months were a brutal gauntlet of chemotherapy and radiation. Miraculously, the tumor responded, shrinking significantly. But the fight wasn’t over. She underwent rectal reconstruction and a temporary ileostomy, a procedure that rerouted waste to allow for healing.
Six more rounds of chemotherapy followed, culminating in the reversal of the ileostomy – a painstaking process of putting her body back together. Throughout it all, Marisa continued to care for her three young children, including a 16-month-old she was still nursing, supported by her unwavering husband.
Though a colonoscopy might not have altered her outcome given the cancer’s advanced stage, Marisa passionately advocates for early screening. She believes it’s the “gold standard” for anyone experiencing concerning symptoms or at increased risk. Her own sister, prompted by Marisa’s diagnosis, underwent a colonoscopy and had pre-cancerous polyps removed – despite being asymptomatic.
This experience illuminated a crucial truth: family history matters. Marisa later discovered both her parents had also had pre-cancerous polyps removed. Understanding these genetic predispositions can be life-saving.
Driven by her ordeal, Marisa founded BE SEEN, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for earlier intervention and screening for colorectal cancer. She wants to empower others to speak up, to be heard, and to prioritize preventative care.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a devastating statistic that underscores the urgency of this issue. Nearly half of all new cases are diagnosed in individuals 65 and younger, a dramatic increase from decades past.
Official guidelines recommend screenings begin at age 45, but Marisa stresses that anyone with concerns should consult a doctor. She carries the weight of knowing she “lost so much time,” and is determined to prevent others from facing the same agonizing delay.
“We’re losing people far too soon,” she says, her voice filled with a quiet determination. “This is not okay. We should not be settling for this.” Her story is a powerful call to action, a plea to listen to our bodies, to advocate for our health, and to demand to be seen.
