Janaylon Wright: Talking About Gaps in Early-onset Colon Cancer Care

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Janaylon Wright, 33, has spent nearly a decade helping Philadelphians navigate the health care system as a supervisor at the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In 2022, at 29 years old, she became a patient herself.

That spring, she began experiencing persistent pain in her lower abdomen. She sought care at a local emergency room but was told there was no clear cause and was advised to take over-the-counter medication. But the pain did not go away. Over the next several weeks, Janaylon visited multiple facilities, including another emergency department and an urgent care center, after her pain became debilitating. “I was in pain at work consistently, literally hunched over,” she recalled.

At the urgent care facility, Janaylon was told they did not have the equipment to evaluate her condition. They referred her to another emergency room, where she was diagnosed with uterine fibroids as the likely causes of her symptoms, including constipation. She was advised to treat the constipation at home. But her condition continued to worsen. By July, she became unable to keep food down, then unable to keep water down. “When I threw up the water, that’s when I really realized this is a severe problem,” she said.

Now months after the onset of her initial symptoms and repeated health care visits, Janaylon returned to the hospital, where clinicians performed more extensive testing. Doctors at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital (Jefferson Einstein) discovered a blockage in her colon. After placing a stent to relieve the obstruction, a biopsy was taken that would later confirm the blockage was caused by colon cancer. The diagnosis was especially shocking given her age and lack of family history.

Her care team believed the cancer had been caught early and that a colectomy—or surgical removal of part of the colon—would be the only treatment needed. However, follow-up pathology revealed stage III disease. “I remember that being the time when it really hit me,” she said. “Stage three of four is high. That was the first time during this entire process that I broke down.”

Her treatment plan shifted to chemotherapy. Throughout, Janaylon relied heavily on her family—her mother accompanying her to appointments, her grandmother visiting her in the hospital daily, and her boyfriend, now husband, staying through every treatment weekend—and a care team at Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center that included nutritionists, social workers, and financial counselors to navigate the logistical and emotional demands of treatment.

Adjusting her life before, during, and after treatment required significant lifestyle changes, particularly related to diet. “My family loves food. We love to cook. We love to eat. So that was the hardest part, just realizing this now has to change,” she said.

Despite the difficulty of chemotherapy and its side effects, Janaylon found strength in the care team that finally listened to her concerns and guided her through treatment. “It was the first time I went somewhere where I didn’t feel like I was being brushed off or pushed to the side,” she said. Reflecting on the earlier stages of her experience, she describes a series of missed opportunities. “If someone would have taken the time to actually dig or run the extra test then it wouldn’t have gotten as far as it did,” she said.

Janaylon’s experience also reflects broader challenges in how symptoms are interpreted in women—particularly in Black women. Her initial abdominal pain had been dismissed as a common “women’s issue,” rather than prompting further investigation. “When you’re a woman and you go to the doctor in pain, it’s just like, ‘this is a women’s problem,’” she said. While acknowledging the pressures of busy health care settings, she emphasized the importance of listening. “If you take a few more seconds and really listen to somebody, you can get to the root of what their problem is.”

Janaylon also encountered gaps in available information and representation. As a young Black woman with colon cancer, she struggled to find resources tailored to her experience. She points to differences in access to care, exposure to health information, and environmental factors—such as diet and neighborhood conditions—as contributors to risk in Black communities. “What you’re exposed to growing up makes a difference,” she said.

Now, 3 years after her diagnosis, Janaylon is doing well and continues to be monitored regularly. Her experience has profoundly shaped how she thinks about health and advocacy, and has made her a vocal advocate in her community. She is especially passionate about raising awareness of early-onset colorectal cancer, which is increasing among younger adults, and about making screening options, including at-home tests, more widely known. “Everybody has a colon,” she said. “We need to talk about it.” One person talking, she believes, goes a long way. “A thousand people talking means a million people will hear it.”