Updated November 9, 2026, 2:40 p.m. ET
I will never forget the day I saw blood on the toilet paper after going to the bathroom.
I was 25 years old, living in New York, and pursuing my professional dream of becoming a journalist. I was young, ambitious and the last thing on my mind was my colon.
At first I ignored the symptoms. But the bleeding continued, accompanied by an increasingly urgent need to go to the bathroom, sometimes more than a dozen times a day. Finally, I made an appointment with a gastroenterologist. That’s when I learned I had ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the large intestine and rectum, causing inflammation, ulcers and bleeding.
As a result, I suffered for years from chronic unpleasant symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements and much more. There is no definitive cure. For over a decade, my life became a revolving door of colonoscopies, medications, flares, and treatments administered from both sides. Nothing says twenty-something glamor quite like giving yourself a medicated enema before bed. But the physical symptoms were only half the battle.
I didn’t talk about my diagnosis with my friends. I was embarrassed, ashamed, and convinced that this illness had torpedoed my chances of finding love, building the big career I had always dreamed of, having children, or traveling the country. How could I go on a first date when I wasn’t sure I could make it through dinner without running to the bathroom? How could I chase the latest news when my own body seemed so unpredictable? I felt completely alone.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that millions of Americans live with inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But this conversation goes well beyond IBD. Gut health problems are on the rise in the United States. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among Americans under the age of 50. Meanwhile, 45 million Americans live with irritable bowel syndrome, 3 million with celiac disease, and more than 2 million with diverticulitis.
Somehow, especially as women, we have normalized bloating, constipation, abdominal pain, and difficulty going to the bathroom. We were taught to talk openly about our periods, our hormones, and our mental health. But our stools? This is where many of us draw the line.
For me, I’m done hiding. Three years ago, my friend Judy Batalion, who also lives with IBD, and I decided we had had enough of the silence. We decided to write the book we desperately wished we had when we were first diagnosed, “The Girl’s Guide to Guts.” Not a dense medical textbook or wellness guide promising to cure everything with a green smoothie. But an honest, humorous and practical guide to living with digestive issues, written by two women who have lived it and are still in the trenches.
We share stories that once would have mortified us. Like the time I met comedian Chelsea Handler at the Sundance Film Festival, then ran to the bathroom and didn’t make it in time. Did I mention I wore an all white outfit? Or the time steroids caused a side effect known as “moon face,” leaving my cheeks so swollen I looked like a chipmunk in my engagement photos.
But there were also days when I didn’t want to get out of bed. Countless plans canceled from a bathroom. Nights spent wondering if the next morning would bring another flare-up and daily health anxiety that still creeps in every time I look into the toilet bowl, wondering if I’ll see blood again.
Despite this chronic illness that pursues my rainbows like a giant cloud, I have continued to take big initiatives. Today, I am a wife, mother of two boys, and journalist who has traveled the country covering some of the biggest news stories in entertainment and media. I built a life that my twenties would have considered an unattainable dream. I’m living proof that a chronic illness doesn’t have to derail your dreams.
Continue to take big swings. Go for work. Fall in love. Build the family. Take the trip. You may just need an extra carry-on bag, not for your heels but for your medications.
Chloe Melas is an NBC News correspondent and co-author of “The Girl’s Guide to Guts,” with New York Times bestselling author Judy Batalion. Their book comes out Tuesday, November 10 (Dial Press).
Gn entert
