A cancer survivor claims she was dismissed for YEARS because doctors said she was 'too young' to get the disease

A woman battling cancer has revealed how doctors brushed her off for years because she was told she was ‘too young’ to get the disease.

Katie Coleman, now 33, of Austin, Texas, was diagnosed in December 2020 with an extremely rare form of kidney cancer known as renal mass carcinoma.

And while she was “terrified” by the news, she also felt “relief” knowing she finally had an answer after years of “feeling sick.”

In an excerpt from her new memoir, titled Too Young for Cancer, shared by Business insidershe explained that she had “knew something was wrong” for quite some time, but had difficulty getting medical professionals to “take her seriously.”

Katie, who was 29 years old at the time, said “several doctors” had previously told her she was “too young for cancer.”

She remembers sitting in a hospital room with husband Brian when she received the heartbreaking news that she had cancer.

“My vision widened as my heart rate, which was rapidly increasing, began setting off alarms behind me,” she wrote.

‘For years I asked doctors if we could rule out cancer in my search for vague symptoms.

A woman battling cancer has revealed how doctors brushed her off for years because she was told she was ‘too young’ to get the disease

Katie Coleman, now 33, of Austin, Texas, was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of kidney cancer known as renal mass carcinoma in December 2020 (seen)

And while she was “terrified” by the news, she also felt “relief” knowing she finally had an answer after years of “feeling sick.” She is in the photo during her treatment

‘I was terrified of this moment and the catastrophic concerns had led me to imagine that this news would probably have been delivered a hundred times before.

“But now that it actually happened, it wasn’t at all what I had imagined.”

Katie explained that despite the devastating blow, she was glad that after years of struggling, she had finally found a doctor who “believed her and seemed to really care.”

“I felt like I finally had an answer to why I wasn’t feeling well, and it wasn’t all in my head,” she continued.

“I wasn’t surprised when I heard something was wrong because I knew something was wrong; I just hadn’t gotten anyone to take me seriously.

“But now we had undeniable proof, and for the first time I sat in front of a doctor who believed me and seemed to genuinely care.

“I knew this wouldn’t be an easy road, but at least I didn’t have to walk it alone anymore.”

After a series of tests, she discovered that her cancer was stage four and had spread.

In an excerpt from her new memoir, she explained that she had “knew something was wrong” for a while — but struggled to get doctors to “take her seriously.”

Katie, who was 29 years old at the time, said ‘several doctors’ had previously told her she was ‘too young for cancer’

She started taking a “chemo-type drug” in February and had surgery in June, which involved “a liver resection and the removal of her kidney.” Her scar from the operation can be seen

“Unfortunately, due to how rare this is, there isn’t much information or data available on treatment protocols and there are no clinical trials to participate in,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

In November 2022, she was told there was ‘no evidence of disease’ in her kidney or liver. She was recently spotted with husband Brian

‘My oncologist wants me to start a treatment that has worked in other types of kidney cancer, but there is no data on its use in the type I have, as far as I understand it.

‘I’m scared, I’m terrified and I’m devastated.

“But I’m going to keep going and I’m going to fight.”

She was told that not only did she have a huge tumor in her kidney, but she also had a series of smaller tumors in her liver.

She started taking a ‘chemo-like drug’ in early February 2021 and in April of that year she revealed that the tumor in her kidney was ‘shrinking’.

In June, she underwent surgery – which involved “a liver resection and the removal of her right kidney” – and in November 2022 was told there was “no evidence of disease” in her kidney or liver.

Now she’s gearing up to tell her harrowing story in her upcoming tome, hitting shelves this week.