Women are taught from a young age how to check for breast cancer. We openly discuss mammograms, lumps, and mastectomies. Cancer awareness has come a long way. But you know what’s still off-limits? Butt cancer.

Bowel habits, gas, hemorrhoids, stool changes, shoving cameras up our butts—it’s embarrassing. No one wants to talk about it. Not even with our doctors. But that silence is costing lives.

I’ve been open about my stage 3 rectal cancer journey, and yet dozens of people have reached out privately to ask about symptoms, screening, and concerns. PRIVATELY. Because talking about poop isn’t classy. Describing your stool to a doctor feels humiliating. And because of that discomfort, many people don’t get the life-saving tests they need.

Here’s the truth: By the time symptoms of colorectal cancer show up, it’s often already advanced. It’s a slow-growing cancer. My tumor, PIMA (Pain In My Ass), has been growing for 7-9 years. If I had been screened earlier, I might not be fighting for my life today.

My Symptoms (Starting One Year Ago in February 2024):

Unexplained nausea & queasiness (like morning sickness)

Constant feeling of needing a bowel movement but never really being able to go

Thin, greasy, ribbon-like stools that floated

Bleeding when wiping (and later in my stool)

Gas and bloating

Feeling like my bowels were always full—like a bowling ball between my legs

I blamed perimenopause. I exercised more, ate fiber, took probiotics. Nothing helped. Finally, I talked to my doctor. We ruled out IBS and food intolerances. I cut out dairy, gluten, and ate “clean.” I got worse.

On August 1, 2024, I had my first colonoscopy. We joked it was probably just hemorrhoids because “if it were serious, I’d be losing weight, not gaining it.”

Wrong.

I had a 5cm tumor (PIMA that bitch), barely a centimeter from my anus.

If I had waited another six months? It likely would have cost me my life.

So yeah, let’s talk about poop. Let’s break social norms. Let’s make it OK to talk about symptoms. Let’s save lives.

I’m a badass with a bad ass, and I share my story because if someone had said something to me earlier, I might have caught PIMA before she had the chance to catch me.

Get screened. Pay attention to changes. Speak up.

~ Michelle Budiwski

February 22, 2025

#ColorectalCancerAwareness #GetScreened #ButtCancerIsCancerToo #PoopTalkSavesLives #BadassWithABadAss #FightCRC