December 2nd 2023.
NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton was recently diagnosed with a rare neuroendocrine tumor after ignoring warning signs of an underlying problem. She revealed that she had been battling recurring stomach issues two years before but had been writing them off as a consequence of her busy work schedule.
"I travel, I'm on planes maybe I don't have the best diet. But I love what I do, so it's worth it and I'm not going to let these symptoms hold me back," she said.
However, her attitude changed after she watched a Today Show segment hosted by Craig Melvin that detailed his brother's battle with colon cancer, which ultimately led to his death.
"Something about that really stuck with me," she said.
Another alarming moment for Hylton was a TikTok video posted by a woman suffering from the same disease at the age of 24. Her own symptoms had worsened, and she was having trouble going to the bathroom for days on end.
When she learned about her family's history of colon cancer and her high risk of contraction as a Black woman, she decided to seek out a specialist who ordered a colonoscopy. On her 30th birthday, Hylton received a call that would lead to her diagnosis.
Fortunately, despite her reluctance to be checked out, her diagnosis came early enough for her to receive life-saving treatments.
"I learned a really important lesson at 30 to listen to myself and to put myself first," she explained. "I love my job. I worked hard here at NBC, and I'm not going to stop doing that. But I've learned the lesson that I really need to put my health first and not push these things off."
According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Black men and women are the most likely racial group to contract colon cancer and are 40% more likely to die from it. This is why it is so important for Hylton to listen to her body, and for others in similar situations to do the same.
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