‘I thought it was an old man's disease’

An estimated 150,000 people in America will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year and more than 57,000 will die from it. What too many people still don't understand is this is not just a disease that affects men. Two women talk about their fight against colon cancer with “Today” host Katie Couric.

By all measures, Rozanne Prisament fit the standard of a healthy woman in her 40s. An attorney in New York, and a mother of three, she still managed time to exercise regularly.  She always ate well and never smoked.

“I mean, I was a little bit of a fanatic about health,” says Prisament.

So at age 47 when Prisament started having rectal bleeding, she didn't think it could be anything serious. “I went to my primary care physician, who did an examination and said I had hemorrhoids — not to worry about it — and that was exactly what I wanted to hear. I was very happy with that diagnosis — there was no follow up required,” she says.

Coming from a family of relatives that all lived into their 90s, Rozanne didn't consider that anything could be wrong with her. So as her symptoms reoccurred, she would simply wait patiently until they again subsided.

“There would be weeks when it would completely go away and I would think, Oh, you know, that's over with. I’m glad I don't have to cope with that anymore,” says Rozanne.

For three whole years, Rozanne ignored her symptoms — rectal bleeding, excessive diarrhea and severe abdominal pain — as her body was fighting to tell her something was wrong. She told no one about what she was going through.

When she could no longer eat or control her bowels, she admits her denial was ridiculous.

Confronting Colon Cancer Learn more about Katie Couric's special series on "Today": What it's like to be a cancer survivor Katie Couric's personal message Get tested if you're over 50 More women diagnosed in 2005 State insurance coverage map (.PDF) Test your knowledge of colon cancer Colon cancer online resources A day in the life of a cancer researcher VIDEO: Segments from the 'Today' show More cancer news from MSNBC.com

“I was downtown during my lunch break at work and I remember, I was in the pharmacy, looking at all these adult disposable diapers and I’m thinking, Wait a minute!  This is the wrong scenario. I should not be here looking at this! That's when I realized, I’m in denial. There’s something very wrong here and I have to get a doctor to help me.”

Luckily for Rozanne, she sought help when she did.

After hearing her symptoms, Dr. Mark Pochapin, director of the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health in New York City, insisted she have a colonoscopy.

“I woke up in the middle of the test and right on that big screen was a huge tumor.  I could see it … I’m looking on the screen, my screen, and it's a tumor. It was beyond belief,” says Prisament.

“I thought it was an old man's disease,” she adds.

It's a commonly held misconception that Pochapin says can be deadly. “Colon cancer doesn't really care about gender.  Men and women get colon cancer at the same rates, and just because you think that as a female you may be immune to this disease, you're not, because this disease is an equal opportunity disease,” he says.

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