In 2000, 39-year-old Cindy Hutson struggled with overwhelming fatigue. When she climbed the stairs at her house, she would feel winded.

"I kept thinking, 'Is this what 40 looks like?'" she said. The thought haunted her every day.

Hutson attributed her fatigue to the stress of having a baby (her second child) and a job, but another symptom appeared: rectal bleeding. The bleeding would come and go, and Hutson would adjust her diet in an attempt to control it.

"I hid the symptoms for a year," she said, "but I knew intuitively that something was wrong. I just kept trying to wish it away."

Hutson's physical condition continued to deteriorate until she was finally referred to Dr. Marc Downs, a colorectal surgeon on staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, for a colonoscopy in December 2001.

"I was on the colonoscopy table," Huston said. "Dr. Downs held my hand, looked at me and said 'You have cancer.' It seemed like something you would see in a movie or a TV program, but it was happening to me."

The next day, Downs performed colon resection surgery on Hutson. The eventual diagnosis was adenocarcinoma, a stage three cancerous tumor that had embedded itself in the wall of her intestine. Because the disease had spread from the rectum to a lymph node, she would begin chemotherapy a month later.

Hutson was not the kind of patient that Downs usually diagnoses with colon cancer. She had few of the risk factors noted by the American Cancer Society. At 40, she was much younger than the 60-year-olds who typically experience the disease. She had no family history of colon cancer, and men are more likely to experience it than women.

Intestinal polyps, which are usually symptomless and can be found only through a screening test such as colonoscopy, are often precursors to cancer. Since Hutson was only 40, she had not taken a routine colonoscopy, recommended at age 50 by the American Cancer Society. Other risk factors listed by the society include a diet high in fat, mostly from animal sources without enough fruits and vegetables, obesity and physical inactivity.

Yet among cancers that affect women, colon and rectal cancer rank second, behind breast cancer, as a major threat to their health.

Following surgery to remove the tumor, Hutson underwent six months of chemotherapy. Her checkups have since stretched from every six weeks, to every three months, and now to a checkup every six months. So far, there has been no recurrence.

Hutson believes the medical treatment that Downs and Dr. Kristi McIntyre, her oncologist at Texas Health Dallas, and the support from nurses Vickie Kouton and Brooke Jones in McIntyre's office, are the reasons she can see the future with an optimistic outlook.

"Dr. Downs and I bonded," she said. "If it wasn't for him and the loving care I received from his staff members, I wouldn't have made it through this."

Today, Huston has the energy and commitment to be an outspoken advocate for colon cancer prevention. "I give people advice all the time," she said. "I've become the advocate in my whole circle of friends at church, school - everybody knows my story because of what I've been through. I tell everyone to go and get a colonoscopy. I tell them to go see Dr. Downs."

Her message paid off for her next door neighbor, whom Hutson talked into going for a colonoscopy. During the procedure, seven polyps were discovered.

Downs stressed two things that are important to remember about colon and rectal cancer; if you experience a problem or abnormal symptoms, they should be evaluated. The second is that colon cancer is largely preventable.

"A colonoscopy at age 50 will prevent 75 percent of the cancer that might occur," he said.

"Don't be ashamed to talk about it," Hutson said. "Don't try to hide it. Call a doctor's office, talk to somebody and ask questions. I have no problem telling anybody that I had colon cancer.

"When you see me now, you would never know. I've been through it, I've lived it. When you become a cancer survivor, you're the best voice for prevention."

The American Cancer Society recommends a screening colonoscopy every 10 years beginning at age 50. Schedule a colonoscopy by asking your physician for a referral, or call 1-877-THR-WELL (1-877-847-9355).