When Micah Repato was walking down the aisle in April, she knew she only had two months to live.
Three months before the big day, aged just 25 years old, Repato was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on New Year’s Day.
She seemed perfectly healthy and had no symptoms until she began having sharp stomach pains that left her curled up in a ball in late December.
Initially, she went to a clinic for the pain and waved off Google search results that suggested she had cancer.
But eventually tests revealed she had weeks to live; she decided to leave the hospital to be at home in Calgary, Canada, with her loved ones.
Repato was able to marry her boyfriend Peter Studnicka before she died two months later on May 25.
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Newlywed Micah Repato, 25, died of stage 4 colon cancer on May 25. The woman from Calgary, Canada, was diagnosed on New Year’s Day and given weeks to live. Her boyfriend Peter Studnicka proposed in March and they wed in April (pictured)
Repato, a hotel group coordinator, said she displayed no symptoms before last December 2016. She had agonizing stomach pains and was vomiting. Pictured: Repato in Greece in 2016
Her husband wrote: ‘Micah was my wife, she was my love and most of all she became my best friend. She will be forever missed, my memories of her forever cherished in my heart’
Her husband, who she met two years ago while buying a car, posted on Facebook: ‘Micah was a beautiful soul loved by so many and we thank you all for your support through out her journey.
‘Micah was my wife, she was my love and most of all she became my best friend. She will be forever missed, my memories of her forever cherished in my heart.’
Studnicka was in the room when Repato learned of her diagnosis and said he wanted to propose right then.
Instead he waited until late March to pop the question and they wed just a week later in April.
They were able to put together a beautiful ceremony on behalf of the Wishing Well Foundation, a non-profit wedding gifting organization for people facing a terminal illness.
Repato had met her husband (pictured together at Christmas) when she was buying a car with her father two years earlier
Colon cancer is rare in patients under the age of 60.
However, the rates of colon or colorectal cancer have increased more two percent each year in younger adults.
They are rising as much as four percent for rectal cancers, and three percent for colon cancer, according to the Colon Cancer Coalition.
Repato, a hotel group coordinator, said she displayed no symptoms or early signs of the cancer until the sharp cramps began in December.
Throughout her journey, Repato kept a blog detailing her daily struggle with cancer, admitting that she was reluctant at first to share her story.
She wrote: ‘After couple of days of confusion from different doctors, it has been confirmed that it was colon cancer but I also had another doctor who confirmed that I also have stomach cancer.’
Repato first had surgery to remove 26cm of her right colon that had the tumor.
But in the surgery, doctors learned the growth had spread to her abdominal lining.
She was then started on chemotherapy on Valentine’s Day after recovering from her initial surgery.
Things were going well and scans revealed the cancer hadn’t spread. Repato was taking medical marijuana to help with nausea from the chemotherapy.
But in March, Repato’s intestine became twisted and cancer cells had spread across her small and large bowels. No surgeon was willing to operate.
Instead of spending the rest of her time in a hospital bed, Repato returned home to be surrounded by the comfort of her family and friends.
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In countries such as the UK and US, more than 80 percent of cases occur in people aged 60 or over. Most colon screenings don’t recommend coming in to get tested before the age of 50
In her last blog post, Repato wrote: ‘I wake up every morning and realize that my husband will be injecting me with drugs every single day and multiple times a day on a daily basis’
PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH COLON CANCER BEFORE 50
Almost 15 percent of patients diagnosed with colon cancer are under the age of 50, scientists revealed.
However, current guidelines don’t recommend colon cancer screenings begin until age 50.
A 2016 study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found younger patients are more likely to have advanced disease.
That’s because they are diagnosed only after their cancers have grown large enough to cause symptoms to appear, scientists suggested.
The finding demonstrates a need for more awareness of warning signs for colorectal cancer, according to the study authors.
Those signs include anemia, a dramatic change in the size or frequency of bowel movements and bleeding with bowel movements.
Additionally, more people should consider family history of colorectal cancer – which is a risk factor.
In her last blog post, Repato wrote: ‘I wake up every morning and realize that my husband will be injecting me with drugs every single day and multiple times a day on a daily basis.
‘This is what I look “forward” to every day, a few injections of drugs and just go back to whatever I’m doing. What am I doing though? This is also not my reality, this is my husband’s reality as well.
She added: ‘I am “living” my life but I no longer have a purpose. I am currently in pain and I don’t know how to explain this life that I am currently “living”. I can’t even look at my loved ones with hope and faith because I no longer have it in me or I just can’t have it every day. I’m disappointing myself and I’m disappointing every one surrounding me.’
She died a little more than 20 days after the post.
Colon cancer is also referred to as bowel cancer or rectal cancer.
In countries such as the UK and U.S., more than 80 percent of cases occur in people aged 60 or over.
In young adults, colon cancer is more likely to be linked to an inherited genetic condition that puts the person at higher risk.
Screening tests can often find these cancers early, but screening isn’t recommended for younger adults unless they have strong risk factors such as a known inherited condition.
Symptoms of colorectal cancer can include rectal bleeding, dark-colored stools, changes in bowel habits, belly pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss.
Among young adults, the outlook for these cancers tends to be better in those who are older at the time cancer is found.
People who are older, who eat a diet low in fiber and high in fat, those who are overweight and those who take little exercise are most at risk.
Smoking, alcohol and a family history of the disease also increase the risk of having the disease.