My family was turned upside down by young-onset colorectal cancer: George Beauregard’s story

George Beauregard, M.D. has nearly 40 years of experience in internal medicine clinical practice as well as in leading health care delivery organizations’ strategic and clinical initiatives. He is the author of the family memoir Reservations for Nine published in March 2025.

Medicine and fatherhood are ingrained in my identity. My son, Patrick Beauregard, was a Marine, very health-conscious and physically fit. One day in September 2017, following a client lunch meeting, Patrick developed acute and intense abdominal pain. His symptoms waxed and waned over several hours prompting a visit to an emergency department, where the cause of his symptoms was found to be an obstruction in his colon. Biopsies confirmed a diagnosis of cancer. Additional testing revealed that the cancer had already spread to his lungs, which meant he, then age 29, had stage 4 سرطان قولوني مستقيمي, a stage that carries a grim relative five-year survival rate of about 14%.

Over the next three years, Patrick endured multiple surgeries and 41 rounds of chemotherapy. Throughout it all, he maintained a positive attitude and became a strong advocate for young-onset colorectal cancer issues. Patrick worked with organizations like the Prevent Cancer Foundation and its Congressional Families Program to raise awareness about the importance of colorectal cancer screening and fundraising for colorectal cancer research, an area that historically has been poorly funded.

Despite his indomitable spirit, Patrick succumbed to his disease at age 32.

Common signs of colorectal cancer include abdominal pain, blood in the stool, anemia and diarrhea. The presence of one of these signs increases the risk of colorectal cancer twofold; having four signs increases the risk sixfold.¹ These common signs are often dismissed by people having them—and often by physicians evaluating those individuals. People with those signs shouldn’t be complacent and dismiss them. They need to seek medical attention, advocate for themselves and push a little harder for diagnostic tests if they’re told there’s nothing to worry about.

Over the past few decades, a shift in colorectal cancer trends has happened. While rates in people 50 years or older have declined, rates in people under 50 have risen. Equally alarming is the fact that there’s been a global rise in the incidence of young-onset cancers of many types since 1990. Although there are many hypotheses about what’s causing this, no single culprit has been definitively identified.

What’s particularly worrisome is that, in most cases, there are no signs or symptoms that herald the presence of the disease, so at diagnosis, affected individuals are typically found to have advanced stage disease, which is less responsive to treatments. In addition to routine screening beginning at 45 and awareness of symptoms (in case you do experience them), we need more new and innovative tests, like blood-based screenings, that are accurate and easily accessible.

Medical knowledge was one important piece of caring for Patrick, but first and foremost, I was his father, offering emotional support, encouragement, hope and love.  I could also offer some informed opinions and advice based on my medical experience, contacts and knowledge. When Patrick was diagnosed, I started journaling to help me process what was happening. I initially hoped that he would be on the positive side of that grim survival rate statistic. As his condition worsened, my hope and belief that he would be a survivor waned. So, my journaling pivoted to writing a book—part tribute and memoir, part medical saga—framed to offer hope, information and guidance to other cancer sufferers and their families going through the cancer maze journey.

The book’s title, Reservations for Nine, is drawn from a college essay written by my daughter, Kaylin; it reflected the joy and diversion provided by extended family gatherings, even when one of us was facing terrible odds. It also described her view of how Patrick’s disease had turned our family life inside out and upside down.

My family’s advocacy efforts continue in Patrick’s memory. Patrick’s youngest brother, Brendan, runs in the Boston Marathon as part of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) team. Our family supports the DFCI, as well as the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and the Pan-Mass Challenge. Together, with this book, we hope to increase understanding of young-onset colorectal cancer and offer support for people undergoing treatment and for the families who love them.

Purchase Reservations for Nine here.

¹ Fritz CDL, Otegbeye EE, Zong X, et al. “Red-flag signs and symptoms for earlier diagnosis of early-onset colorectal cancer.” J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 August 8;115(8):909–916