MILWAUKEE — Leading the next generation has always been a passion for Jameelah Mahmoud. She works for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee.
“Our youth are our future. We have to pour into them,” said Mahmoud. “I’ve been working with not-for-profits in the after-school space since I was in college.”
It was her job she said that kept her spirits high during her difficult battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.
“They took six inches of my colon, ascending part of my colon, and they reattached my small intestine to my large intestine,” said Mahmoud.
She went through eight rounds of chemotherapy and four years later she’s in remission. Getting the initial diagnosis was not easy. She went to numerous doctors after experiencing months of consistent abdominal pain. Eventually, a stool sample and colonoscopy revealed it was cancer.
“I really had to advocate to my doctor this is something that is going on,” said Mahmoud. “I actually had to suggest seeing a GI specialist.”
Dr. Kirk Ludwig is a colorectal surgeon at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin. He said the standard recommendation is for people to start getting annual colonoscopies at the age of 45, but research shows more people under that age are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
“People should push their doctors when you’re having bleeding or you’re having a change in your bowel habits and something doesn’t seem right,” said Ludwig. “You need to be investigated.”
That’s why Mahmoud has taken her role as a mentor for young people in Milwaukee even further. She is now a national ambassador for the organization Fight Colorectal Cancer. She recently addressed U.S. lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through,” said Mahmoud. “This is my life mission to raise more awareness not only for young people but African Americans. The disparities and just health equity within the Black community is very important to me.”
Mahmoud said she hopes by sharing her story, she can save others.