My Symptoms
Cancer Poop is Weird AF
It’s not a glamorous topic, but it’s part of the truth I promised to share. Looking back, my body had been trying to tell me something long before the doctors did — and a lot of those clues showed up in the bathroom. So consider this your heads-up 😊. In this post, I want to walk you through the symptoms I experienced, because what seems small, random, or “explainable” in the moment might actually be your body waving a red flag.
Looking Back at the First Signs
As I reflected on 2024, trying to remember what might have been a symptom, I realized my first real doctor visit was for indigestion in the spring. I went to my GP, and like clockwork, the first line of defense for stomach issues was PPIs (proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec).
But here’s the thing — I was stubborn. I’ve never believed PPIs should be the end-all-be-all, and I wanted root cause answers. So, they ran the H. pylori test (negative). Good news, I thought. She suggested I see a GI specialist — and I should have listened. But my mind was already frustrated: “Great, another doctor who will just push PPIs.” That was probably my first mistake.
Looking back, I should have pushed for a CT scan, endoscopy, or colonoscopy. Those are the things we must advocate for ourselves.
When Symptoms Are Easy to Dismiss
The stomach pain was hit or miss. Mostly I felt okay, chalking it up to certain foods not agreeing with me. Good old indigestion. Getting older. Menopause. Hormones changing.
Then came the spasms — right where the mass was growing. But I was training heavily with my coach at the time, so of course I thought, “I pulled a muscle.” See how easy it is to explain symptoms away?
By December, Everything Changed
That’s when things really got weird in the bathroom. My poop changed in shape, color, and motility slowed down. I thought maybe I wasn’t eating healthy enough, so I started changing up my food. But the pain got worse, and the poop stayed strange.
We’re talking dark and tarry, sometimes thin like sheets of paper or strings — not normal (see the Bristol Chart in your resources below). Later I learned that dark, tarry poop means an internal bleed. Yep — that’s what was happening.
And then came the “coffee grind” poop. What the heck? Constipated one day, diarrhea the next. No balance. I have not been the same since December.
Friends, check your poop. It says a lot about what’s happening in your body.
Chasing Answers
I chased pain for four months before getting diagnosed in DC.
In January, I had an ultrasound and an MRI. Both reports came back “normal,” with a note from my GP: “No further action required.”
But the pain was still there.
In February, on my birthday, I took myself to Baylor ER in McKinney hoping for another scan. Instead, I was met with Dr. Timothy Chamberlain, who basically brushed me off: “You just had an MRI, it’s fine. GI stuff is tricky in the ER, and we’re busy.”
He then launched into a personal story about how stress once led him to drink too much wine, diagnosed me with ulcers, and handed me a prescription for—you guessed it—more PPIs. “I’m going to prescribe the same exact medicine I took that helped me,” he said.
I was offended. I told him I had eliminated alcohol in 2024, so there was no way that could be part of the problem. Still, PPI prescription in hand, I walked out—frustrated, unheard, and no closer to answers.
Looking back, this was one of those moments when I felt completely dismissed by the system. It was also the moment I realized how critical it is to advocate for yourself, even when you’re exhausted or intimidated. Because sometimes, no one else will.
Still Searching for the Root Cause
Some of you know I’ve been studying Functional Nutrition with Andrea Nakayama off and on for a couple of years. I’d been learning so much about the gut, but even with all that knowledge, I didn’t consider cancer as the culprit. Instead, I just kept adjusting my food, hoping something would work.
Eventually, I begged my GP: “Do you have a bat phone to get me in sooner with another GI?” Finally, I got an appointment with GI Dr. Joseph Kim at Baylor. I couldn’t get a scan for another 3.5 months. Again, no sense of urgency.
And yes — more PPIs.
I asked him about bleeding, and he said, “I doubt it. You just had an MRI.”
Are you scratching your head yet? You should be. Because that MRI actually showed the mass — and it was MISSED by Touchstone Imaging in McKinney. Always get a second opinion.
The Turning Point
I scheduled an upper scope with Dr. Kim but never made it. By then, I was already in DC.
From the hospital, I did a telehealth with him and said: “Can you check my charts? Look where I’ve been for the last 5 days.” When he realized I had been diagnosed with cancer, he literally grabbed his hair: “Oh my God, Kim, I’m so sorry. This is bad. Really bad. I’m scared for you.”
I can’t make this stuff up.
The best thing he did though was connect me with UT Southwestern and Dr. Polanko, one of the top surgical oncologists. That was a gift.
What I Learned
When you get cancer, you need two things:
A medical oncologist
A surgical oncologist
And ideally, both from the same cancer center so they share the same platform and communicate seamlessly. Because honestly, cancer care is a full-time job: chemo, appointments, insurance, and lots of bills.
Here’s the truth: an endoscopy wouldn’t have reached far enough to see the mass, a colonoscopy wouldn’t have helped because it only looks at the large intestine, and even a pill cam could have missed it.
Scans are the only way. And they don’t offer them — you have to ask. If they argue, tell them you’re in pain.
📌 Resources for You
I’ve pulled together a few tools from my Digestive Intensive course that might help you tune in to your own gut health.
✅ Food/Mood/Poop Journal – track what you eat, how you feel, and what shows up in the bathroom
✅ 10 Tips to Better Digestion – simple ways to support your gut every day
✅ Bristol Stool Chart – a visual guide to what your poop is telling you
✅ The Essential Guide to Digestive Wellness – FAQ – answers to common questions about gut health
👉 Download these resources and, if you have any questions, reach out. We’ll figure it out, together.
Looking back now, I can see how many little red flags I brushed off, explained away, or trusted others to dismiss. It’s easy to second-guess, but the truth is, cancer doesn’t come with a neat checklist of symptoms. It shows up messy, confusing, and often overlooked.
If there’s one thing I hope you take from my story, it’s this: listen to your body and don’t be afraid to push for answers. Advocate for yourself, even when it feels uncomfortable.
In my next blog, I’ll shift gears and share about my TRIBE—the people who showed up, the quick pivots we had to make, and how community has carried me through the hardest moments.
With Gratitude for this journey,
KC