VH1’s Ahmad “Real” Givens Dies of Colon Cancer at Young Age

Shockingly, reality TV star Ahmad “Real” Givens has died at the age of 33. Isn’t colon cancer an old person’s disease?

Givens, known for his time on the VH1 dating series Real Chance of Love, as well as being a a rapper in the group Stallionaires.was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2013.

Givens told the Urban Daily in April 2014 that he originally went to the doctor because he thought he had the flu which wouldn’t go away.

“I went and saw three different doctors and they all misdiagnosed me. One told me I had hepatitis A. Another told me I might have mono. One told me I might have the Norovirus. But what made me check into the ER is the last doctor who misdiagnosed me gave me antibiotics. The antibiotics gave me chronic diarrhea and I dropped like thirty pounds in two weeks.”

This prompted him to have himself admitted to the hospital. Talking at the New York Life 2014 National Cultural Markets Conference, Givens recalled when he was given the diagnosis of colon cancer, which had already spread to his liver:

“I remember I was laying on the hospital bed and the doctor came in crying and when I saw her crying I knew it was something serious. My doctors thought I had, like, three days to live so they just zapped me with chemo. I left out of there with my veins burning and everything.”

He underwent surgery, however the cancer spread to the left side of his brain. This left him partially paralyzed on the right side of his body, and he had to relearn how to walk.

Givens had seemed to be be doing well until January of this year when the cancer returned and he restarted chemotherapy treatments.

Givens and his brother Kamal, a.k.a “Chance”, were originally contestants on VH1’s I Love New York in 2007. They went on to have their own show Real Chance of Love from 2008 to 2009 and Real & Chance: The Legend Hunters in 2010.

Chance posted this message to his brother on Instagram

“By to my favorite guy in this whole world be in peace we love you forever bro I’ll see you one day soon we shall dance again in God’s kindom forever and ever bro words can’t describe my pain world pray for me!”

5 things you need to know about colon cancer in young people

1. The rates of cancers of the colon and rectum are increasing in Americans younger than 50.
2. The environmental risk factors for colorectal cancers are sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes.
3. The genetic risk factors for colorectal cancer include two hereditary diseases: Lynch Syndrome and FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis).
4. The symptoms of colorectal cancer include abdominal pain, change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding and anemia.
5. If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor as soon as possible and be sure to tell her if you have a family history of cancer and know what kind of cancer(s) the ages at which your relatives were diagnosed.

You and your doctor might find this pamphlet helpful.