My 29-year-old son had a stomach ache that wouldn’t go away. He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and died 6 months later.

• Andrew Reaster, a 29-year-old UPS driver from Georgia, had a sudden stomachache that lasted three days.

• Her mother, Kathy Lemoine, wants more teens and parents to know their risk of colon cancer.

This article as told is based on a conversation with Kathy Lemoine, 58, of Lawrenceville, Georgia. His son, Andrew Reaster, died of colon cancer on August 9, 2025. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

My son Andrew lived life to the fullest every day.

He was a kid who decorated his apartment with Pokémon and Legos. He loved his job as a UPS driver, and most of his customers loved him too. He would jump around and pet his dogs. It seemed like every one of his friends considered him their best friend.

Besides his active work, Andrew was also very particular about his health. mostly followed clean diet and never skipped dental appointments. He also had excellent school attendance and rarely got sick.

When he called me in January 2025 about abdominal pain that had not gone away for three days, I immediately called a gastroenterologist in my city. Andrew arrived the next day.

The doctor immediately felt something hard during Andrew’s rectal exam and scheduled an emergency colonoscopy. Andrew arrived a few days later after a major snowstorm. I went with him, thinking the procedure would take at least half an hour. Ten minutes later I was called. They couldn’t even pass the binoculars because of the blockage.

Within a week, we learned that it was stage 4. colon cancerThe cancer is spreading to his liver, lungs and stomach lining.

That’s when our nightmare began.

The hardest decision I’ve ever had to make

We learned from CT scans that the mass could not be surgically removed and that Andrew would need chemotherapy treatment and a colostomy, a procedure that creates an opening in his abdomen to collect waste through a colostomy bag.

I couldn’t breathe. I felt like a hand was squeezing my heart. Because Andrew had Asperger’s disease, now known as Asperger’s disease. autism spectrum disorderI knew if I focused on the negativity he would do the same. So I said, “Okay honey, we can do this.”

He went to the front office to start paperwork for the short-term injury. I called the doctor and asked about the course of the disease. He told me that without treatment Andrew had about a month to live. About six with treatment.

After Andrew went home, I called my mother. I broke down on the phone. I was inconsolable. “I can’t believe my son is dead,” I said.

Andrew worked until the other day his colostomy In February 2025. He was very worried about getting the short-term disability paperwork correct so he wouldn’t lose his job. All he talked about was getting out his colostomy bag, kicking cancer’s ass, and then getting back to work.

The colostomy was supposed to involve a three- to five-day hospital stay. Due to complications, Andrew remained there for 48 days. He had a fever that hospital staff first thought was an infection but later turned out to be caused by his cancer.

Because Andrew had given me power of attorney, the doctor pulled me aside and said, “Mom, you have a very important decision to make.” without chemotherapyAndrew would only live another three weeks, but given how weak he was, there was a chance he might not make it through the night if we started now.

This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. I knew I would regret not trying chemotherapy. I sat with him throughout the three-day regimen and waited to see what would happen. It was very scary because I could lose him at any moment. We ended up watching “Cars,” “Fast and Furious,” and all these different movies.

He made it. The doctor was shocked. I thought, “Oh my God, we’re going to kick this.” Andrew came back for him second round of chemotherapy two weeks later.

I’m trying to stay positive

Andrew started to feel a little better. He still couldn’t work, but he went out with friends. Meanwhile, a new doctor closer to Andrew’s home encouraged me to review any clinical trials I could find; He really didn’t think Andrew had much time.

Chemotherapy became increasingly harsh for Andrew. Her white blood cell count was too low to continue chemotherapy, and she couldn’t go to the bathroom. colostomy bag. He seemed to have a positive outlook, though.

By the time he turned 30 in July 2025, his weight had dropped from 210 to just 140 pounds. Towards the end, when he saw how skeletal he had become, he didn’t want his friends and family to visit him anymore.

He suffered a lot. He was in constant pain until his death on August 9, 2025.

When I look back, I say, “Oh my God, I shouldn’t have let him suffer for so long. We should have let him go.” But I think if I let him go, I’d be like, “Oh my God, we should have tried harder.” So no matter what, I would regret it and that’s what I do.

It was heartbreaking to watch him disappear.

I still wonder if we’re missing early signs

We had no idea that colon cancer was something to be aware of. Andrew was young, had no family history, and had no digestive problems Except for abdominal pain. I guess there were little signs here and there but he didn’t know about them or just ignored them.

Colon cancer now deadliest cancer For people under 50 years of age. It is also highly treatable if caught early. I want people under 45 to know all the risks so they can get screened as soon as they notice any warning signs, whether they’re getting a colonoscopy or at home. colon cancer tests.

I also think people have a hard time talking about colon cancer because it has something to do with their butts, and I hope to make it less of a topic. taboo subject.

I recently rebooted. Andrew’s Instagram Account where information about colon cancer is shared. I posted a photo of her with the words “In this photo I am 29 years old, I have Stage IV Colorectal Cancer and I will be gone in 4 months.” More than 400,000 people viewed his profile that month.

My son didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. I hope that with more awareness, young people and their parents will understand how serious colon cancer is.

Correction: May 16, 2026 — An earlier version of this story misstated the time between Andrew Reaster’s diagnosis and his death. He was diagnosed in February 2025 and died 6 months later.

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