• Katie Davis, now 21, started experiencing waves of intense stomach pain when she was 20.
• Doctors initially suspected a benign ovarian cyst and told her to monitor symptoms.
• After she got chills and nausea, she got a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.

Katie Davis lived the typical busy college student life when she first started feeling stomach pain.

Then a 20-year-old junior and marketing major at Westchester University in Pennsylvania, Davis split her time between classes, her job at Playa Bowls, and her sorority. The pain in the top right of her abdomen was easy to ignore because it was so sporadic and fleeting.

“It was on and off, it would come in waves,” Davis, now 21, told Business Insider. “I would go a good while without it, and then it would come and only last a few minutes, sometimes even a few seconds.”

Over time, the pain — when it showed up — got more severe, sometimes causing her to double over in pain. Three months after it started, she went to a local urgent care while at her boyfriend’s family beach house. There was no ultrasound equipment at the facility, and she was told that, based on her symptoms, it could be an ovarian cyst that would hopefully go away after her next period.

Her doctor suspected colon cancer before the biopsy

Davis was told to keep an eye on the pain and go to an emergency room if she felt other symptoms like fever or nausea. A few days later, when she started getting chills and vomited at her parents’ home, Davis did just that.

“That was the first time anything more serious than an ovarian cyst was brought up to me,” Davis said. According to her ultrasound and CAT scan, her colon was inflamed and appeared to have free fluid, a potential indication of infection, trauma, or cancer.

The ER doctor thought it could be Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, or, in more serious cases, colon cancer. He scheduled a colonoscopy.

“I didn’t think I was going to come out of it having cancer or anything really serious,” Davis said. Her first clue that something was wrong was when she woke up from the procedure. She noticed she was placed in a separate room from the other colonoscopy patients.

The doctor who performed the procedure told Davis and her mom that he was “pretty positive” the mass in Davis’ colon was cancerous. “He said he’d been doing it for long enough that he could kind of tell,” she said.

Shortly after, Davis was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.

“I didn’t really know what to think or feel,” Davis said about learning her diagnosis. “Definitely just numb and confused at first, like ‘how did I get this?'”

Treatment dragged on due to side effects like vision loss

After diagnosis, Davis had surgery on her colon and was supposed to start three months of chemotherapy soon after. But, the side effects complicated her treatment.

“I couldn’t tolerate the more hardcore chemotherapy,” Davis said. She developed extreme fatigue, nausea, and neuropathy, which she said felt like “pins and needles” in her hands every time she encountered temperature changes.

The most alarming side effect was her vision loss. “My vision would go completely black,” Davis said. Her parents researched the drug, oxaliplatin, which can cause vision issues in some patients. Davis also found the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA) and said hearing similar stories around common side effects helped her stay informed about alternative treatment options.

Davis was put on oral-only chemotherapy medication, prolonging her treatment from three to six months. The only upside was that she no longer had to travel back and forth for treatment, since she could take it wherever she was.

All the while, she was still attending her college classes in person as often as she could, even though her professors knew about her colon cancer diagnosis. “My boyfriend lives there, all my friends live there, so I tried to be there as much as possible,” she said. “I tried to keep up with my stuff as much as I could, but it definitely was difficult to do schoolwork when I felt as horrible as I did on the chemo.”

She’s glad she listened to her body

Davis finished chemo in June 2025 and was declared cancer-free shortly after. Going forward, she’ll have blood tests every three months and an annual colonoscopy.

Now a senior, she’s a marketing intern at a financial advisory firm and is trying to figure out her plans post-graduation. She said finishing treatment made her feel “excited to be normal again” and get back to her normal college life without worrying about doctor’s appointments or treatment side effects.

Looking back, she’s grateful for noticing the warning signs early enough. “A lot of my doctors said that most people at my age or with my stage wouldn’t really have the symptoms that I had that let me know that something is wrong,” she said. “I’m glad that I learned to listen to my body.”

It’s her biggest piece of advice to young people with similar or subtle symptoms, as colon cancer recently became the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50. She said joining the CCA and colon cancer Facebook groups can also help raise awareness of potential symptoms.

“You’re not really alone going through it,” she said, whether you’re worried about symptoms or actively undergoing treatment. “There are other people who are experiencing it too who can help you.”

• My son bought a $2 car with no title and major damage.
• He spent two summers fixing it himself using YouTube.
• The independence he gained was worth more than the car.

My eldest felt a strong urge to own a car for most of his teenage years. He would pop into the living room and show his dad and me his latest internet find, usually a 20-year-old jalopy with questionable reliability costing several thousand dollars.

Each summer break, he would talk about buying a car with us. Each time, we wouldn’t say no. We would just urge him to consider his situation as a full-time student with an uncertain future.

We provided transportation to and from school, and while there, he walked, rode a bike, and grabbed rides from friends. Each time, he decided on his own that it might not be the smartest time to invest a couple of thousand dollars in a car of questionable repair.

He got a deal from a family friend

The summer before his junior year of college, however, a family friend offered him a deal he couldn’t pass up. It was a 20-year-old Volvo wagon that had a run-in with a deer. The front end was crumpled, it was undrivable, and he didn’t have the title. But the price was right — $2, twice the friend’s original purchase price of a buck.

In some ways, it was a bold move. My son didn’t have much experience in car mechanics. During that school break, he put money and time into repairs. He straightened the front radiator support with a winch so all the parts would fit again. He replaced the radiator and flushed out the intercooler. By the end, it stayed in motion long enough to limp to a storage barn for the winter.

The next summer, it was his main focus. He installed a new radiator fan, bought a new battery. Replaced two tires and had them aligned. Put in a new headlight and did more bodywork. He cleaned it, inside and out. And just a couple of days before returning to college, the crowning glory: a salvaged hood that perfectly matched the golden hue of his car.

He learned a lot from fixing the car

There was a fair amount of angst. Figuring out the process for issuing a new title. Hunting down the owner who last had it and arranging a meeting. Ordering the wrong or incomplete parts and having to send them back. Determining what needed to be fixed and how much it cost. Calculating how much he should spend, even after fixing it up, the car was probably only worth about $2,000.

He elected to do much of the work himself, spending hours at the “University of YouTube.” At one point, as he lamented the money he had spent so far, with the possibility that it would all be for naught, my husband asked him how much a college credit hour costs. My son looked it up. It was exactly what he had spent so far on the car. My husband said, “Haven’t you learned a lot?”

That helpful reframing stuck: The night before he drove the car to college, my son commented, “Hey, I got a free car at the end of that college class.” We celebrated with him that evening, telling him how proud we were of his persistence and frugality, of his push to learn something new.

He got the independence he wanted

Seeing him drive off in that car left an indelible impression on me. Armed with his insurance’s roadside assistance, a toolbox gifted by his dad, and a bag of extra fluids in the passenger seat, he set out on the 8-hour, 57-minute drive to York College in Pennsylvania from our home in Kentucky. He couldn’t shake the small, satisfied smile on his face. I couldn’t shake my delight and my apprehension.

Being the mom that I am, I asked him to text whenever he stopped so we could track him on his journey. First stop: at the coffee shop halfway, our usual lunch break, and the new thrift store next door. Next, at a Civilian Conservation Corps museum, he saw signs along the highway. Finally, in the parking lot of his dorm. Even through text, I could sense the satisfaction and pride he felt for accomplishing that trip in his own ride.

In the ensuing months, the $2 car has safely delivered him each week to his internship and to a friend’s house for fall break. It has given him a measure of independence he didn’t have before. And it gave him something we, as parents, couldn’t, no matter how much we wanted to: a sense of self-sufficiency. That was something he had to earn.

We could only encourage him, support him, and talk him through his next steps, then see if he succeeded or failed. In the end, he knew that he could handle the road ahead by himself.

• When visiting Disney World in colder temps, I explore the park differently.
• Cold-weather character costumes and EPCOT Festival of the Arts are two winter-only experiences.
• A puffer jacket, Minnie Ear beanie, and gloves are not my usual park look, but a must this trip.

With more than 20 trips to Walt Disney World, I’ve visited during every season and most months of the year — a June work trip, November family trip for our Disney wedding, a 5th birthday trip in May, and in the runDisney ChEAR squad with a friend in February.

This year was my fourth time visiting in the winter months of January/February, and it was just my husband and me. Despite some very chilly days, this trip confirmed it — winter is officially my favorite time to visit Disney World, especially when it’s a kid-free trip.

Winter is a time to explore the parks differently

In the months when avoiding heat and crowds is a priority, it’s best to arrive early, stay late, and avoid being outdoors during the hottest hours of the day.

When it’s cold, it’s kind of the opposite. We focused on the indoor attractions and spots with indoor queues in the morning.

At 11 a.m., we searched for opportunities to be in the brisk afternoon air and lovely sunshine.

Once the sun started setting and it started getting chillier around 4:30/5 p.m., we headed to eat, taking our time over meals at restaurants geared more toward adults, like Takumi-Tei at EPCOT.

We found rare characters, cold-weather costumes, and new Cast Members

Late January/early February is one of the start times for the Disney College Program, also known as DCP in Disney lingo.

Some of my favorite Cast Member interactions have been with excited, brand-new college kids in “Earning My Ears” ribbons. These Cast Members are proof that some of the biggest Disney fans work in the parks.

This is also a time to randomly meet rare characters because characters are being “warmed up” (Disney speak for training) for parades, shows, and character meet and greets.

On this trip, we had two character firsts at EPCOT — meeting both Geppetto from “Pinocchio” and the mice from “Cinderella.” Usually, the only place to see these characters is during a parade.

I got a wave from Geppetto and helped the mice search for Cinderella’s glass slipper.

EPCOT is also home to many outdoor character meet-and-greets. When the temperature drops, the cold-weather costumes come out — Alice dons a gorgeous cloak, Moana has sleeves with seashells, and Aurora gets a stunning pink fur trim on her gown.

We found a new favorite location for a nighttime show, California Grill

With the not-so-magical weather, we changed our plans for the nighttime show.

Even in a hat, gloves, and multiple layers, the chilly nighttime air coming off the lagoon at EPCOT for Harmonious and the cold seats at Hollywood Studio Fantasmic! weren’t appealing.

Instead, we made our first visit to California Grill. Seeing fireworks fill the sky over Magic Kingdom, toasty warm with a goat cheese ravioli and a glass of Skywalker wine, was an experience I will happily repeat.

The best EPCOT Festival is for a few weeks and only in the winter

I’ve been to every one of the four annual EPCOT festivals multiple times.

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is, without a doubt, my favorite. It’s the smallest, shortest, and least busy festival.

We visited the festival every day of our four-day trip. We climbed inside 3D chalk art, saw popular Disney artists, hopped inside scenes from Disney movies, and sampled sips and bites almost too beautiful to eat.

What I love most about the Festival of the Arts is the sense of community and inclusiveness.

We joined thousands of people from around the world to transform a wall into a colorful community art piece.

And, before leaving the park for the evening, we stood with other guests watching Spaceship Earth light up in rainbows while The Muppets sang “Rainbow Connection.”

This trip, we were prepared for the cold weather

Almost every winter trip to Disney, I have come home with an impulse purchase made while freezing in the park.

There’s the blanket from the EPCOT Mexico pavilion we huddled under during the fireworks in November, and the Mickey sweatshirt bought at a very chilly late-night Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I have two hoodies from my last trip in February — it was so chilly, I wore both at the same time.

Not this time! We were prepared for the cold, and instead of a suitcase full of cute vintage-inspired Disney dresses — my usual park look — I packed packable puffer jackets and gloves, and got creative with Disney-esque layers.

Multiple guests and Cast Members complimented my Minnie Ear beanie and Mickey-inspired red and black puffer jacket layers — items I got for an Alaska Disney Cruise that I never thought I’d wear in Florida, but looked great in front of the magical glow of Spaceship Earth.

• New satellite imagery shows the aftermath of US and Israeli strikes across Iran.
• The images from Sunday show damage at drone bases, naval facilities, and radar systems.
• The US and Israel said they hit a range of targets from military sites to high-ranking officials.

Newly captured satellite imagery shows destruction and damage to infrastructure at military installations across Iran after waves of US and Israeli airstrikes.

The images, collected on Sunday by the US spatial intelligence firm Vantor and obtained by Business Insider, show that a wide range of targets have been struck since Saturday, including a drone base, a naval facility, and a radar system.

The US involvement is more widespread than the brief round of American strikes in June 2025, which primarily targeted Iran’s nuclear sites.

In the southern coastal city of Konarak along the Gulf of Oman, the images reveal destroyed and damaged buildings, storage bunkers, and aircraft shelters at Iranian drone and air bases.

At a nearby naval facility in Konarak, the imagery shows destroyed and sinking vessels and damaged buildings adjacent to the pier. The US military confirmed on Sunday that it had struck a Jamaran-class corvette and said it was “sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman.”

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US has “destroyed and sunk” nine Iranian naval vessels and would continue to target the remainder of the fleet.

At the Zahedan airbase in eastern Iran, near the country’s borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, imagery reveals an obliterated radar system.

The US military said on Saturday that it had targeted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control facilities, air defenses, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. B-2 stealth bombers struck fortified missile sites with 2,000-pound bombs.

In contrast, the US focused its attacks in June 2025 — the first direct American strikes against Iran in decades — on fortified sites associated with Iran’s effort to enrich uranium.

The Israeli military said it has targeted Iranian air defense systems, missile launchers, and fighter jets in strikes that began Saturday and have continued into Sunday. Israel said it has killed 40 senior Iranian commanders, as well as the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Despite these blows, Iran has managed to launch a steady pace of drones and missiles, damaging buildings and ships across the region.

Israeli fighter jets have dropped thousands of munitions over more than 700 aircraft sorties. More than 200 people have been killed or wounded in the joint strikes, according to local reports.

Iran has retaliated to the strikes by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and more than half a dozen other countries across the Middle East, including at major US military bases in several Gulf states.

The retaliatory fire has killed and wounded dozens of people in Israel and the United Arab Emirates, officials said, and caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure across the Gulf.

US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said on Sunday that three service members have been killed and five more seriously wounded as part of combat operations against Iran. It said several other American personnel sustained minor injuries.

The announcement marks the first time the US has acknowledged casualties during the operation. Trump warned of potential losses on Saturday when he announced the start of the strike campaign.

“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war,” Trump said in a video address to the nation. “But we’re doing this — not for now — we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”

• US and Israeli forces killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the weekend.
• Users bet at least $255 million over his killing and strikes in Iran on Kalshi and Polymarket.
• Some people claimed markets were rigged or unfair. Others criticized the death-related markets.

First came the bets. Then came the bombs. Now comes the outrage.

On Saturday, while many Americans were waking up to news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, some were betting money on what would happen next — and expressing confusion and anger over what was happening on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

The market-surveillance software company Bubblemaps said Saturday morning it had identified several new cryptocurrency wallets connected to Polymarket that collectively made over $1.2 million related to strikes on Iran.

Meanwhile, hours after the strikes began, Kalshi posted on X about the volatility in markets related to the ousting of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On Polymarket, at least $200 million was staked on four wagers related to US strikes on Iran, regime change, or Khamenei’s death. Kalshi, which is more regulated and barred by US law from offering markets related to war and assassination, recorded almost $55 million in contracts related to whether or not Khamenei would be “out” in the next several months before activity in those markets was halted on Saturday afternoon.

The drip-drip of news and ambiguities in the contractual language on Kalshi and Polymarket led some users to think they had an edge as the day progressed. But several expressed outrage at the processing of their bets — or “trades,” as Kalshi calls them.

“Robbery. This platform is terrible,” wrote one Kalshi user, who posted an image showing a loss of $11.25 on a long-shot bet on Khamenei’s ouster.

While Kalshi only lists seven open markets on its “Iran” page, Polymarket had 187 Iran-related markets open as of Sunday morning, many with very little trading volume.

One that has since closed asked whether the US would “forcibly remove” Khamenei by March 31. Polymarket posted a “clarification” that the market resolved to “no” because the US had “merely contribute[d] to or assist[ed]” in the killing of Khamenei.

Some commenters urged that the outcome be disputed. Polymarket, where activity is logged on the Polygon blockchain, has a complex, decentralized resolution mechanism for many of its markets.

Markets that hinge partly on death are among the most controversial ones offered on prediction markets because they could create financial incentives for killing. In Israel, several people were reportedly arrested, and at least two were indicted in February based on their use of military secrets to make Polymarket bets.

In late February, six Democratic senators asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has emerged as the main regulator of US prediction markets, to take action against contracts that “incentivize physical injury or death,” citing several Polymarket contracts and not mentioning Kalshi.

Chris Murphy, another Democratic senator, said this weekend on X that he would introduce legislation “ASAP” to prevent “people around Trump” from “profiting off war.”

By the end of Saturday, Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour posted on X that bets on Khamenei’s ouster would be paid out for their value the minute before Israel and the US reportedly struck Iran. Users who bought contracts after that point would be partly reimbursed, he said.

Some people protested or expressed confusion over how their positions would resolve. Others were supportive of Kalshi’s decisions.

“90% of you never read any rules and are mad at Kalshi because you couldn’t make money off your lil $10,” one user said in the comment section on Kalshi. “Get a grip, start reading rules.”

Representatives for Kalshi and Polymarket didn’t immediately respond to questions sent by email on Sunday morning.

Have a tip? Know more? Reach Jack Newsham via email (jnewsham@businessinsider.com) or via Signal (+1-314-971-1627). Use a personal email address, a nonwork device, and nonwork WiFi; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

• The US shared new video footage from its strikes on Iran.
• The US and Israel launched strikes with hundreds of aircraft and numerous munitions.
• The footage includes missiles launched at sea and the destruction of Iranian targets

New US video footage shows elements of its strikes on Iran, including the launching of missiles and fighters and the destruction of multiple targets.

The footage shared by US Central Command on Saturday shows destroyers firing missiles at sea and carriers launching combat aircraft. It also shows repeated strikes on Iranian military targets. It said its forces are “delivering an overwhelming and unrelenting blow.”

It did not specify exactly what was hit, or attribute each attack to the US or Israel, which jointly took part in the operation, dubbed Operation Epic Fury on the American side and Roaring Lion on the Israeli side.

It said the operation, which started Saturday morning, involved precision munitions launched from the air, land, and sea, and said it “involves the largest regional concentration of American military firepower in a generation.”

A US official also told Business Insider that the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from warships and that ground forces used the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. Other weapons were also employed.

The Israel Defense Forces said that it used around 200 fighters in what it described as “the largest military flyover in the history of the Israeli Air Force,” adding that the jets dropped hundreds of munitions “targeting approximately 500 objectives, including aerial defense systems and missile launchers, in a number of locations in Iran, simultaneously.”

Israel has also released footage showing an attack on missile launchers at a remote site in Iran.

US Central Command said attacks were intended to “dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat.” President Trump vowed to destroy Iran’s missile program and other military capabilities and said that the aim was for Iran to “never” have a nuclear weapon. He called on Iranian forces to surrender or face “certain death.”

CENTCOM said targets included “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.”

Strikes have been reported across Iran, including at military sites and the residence of Iran’s supreme leader. Satellite imagery showed a burning Iranian warship in the aftermath of the initial strikes.

Iranian officials said that at least 85 people were killed at a girls’ elementary school, and the Iranian Red Crescent humanitarian group told the BBC that 201 people had been killed in the country.

After the start of the US and Israeli strikes, Iran launched counterattacks against Israel and against multiple nearby nations, many of which have bases that host US forces and are US allies. Those nations reported many successful interceptions, but also some damage. Details about Iran’s attacks are still emerging, and attacks may continue.

CENTCOM said that its forces had successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks. It said there was damage to US military facilities, but that it was minimal and did not impact operations.

Bahrain said the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, located in the country, was hit by an Iranian missile attack, without giving details on the extent of any damage.

Iran’s strikes also targeted Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. Some countries reported injuries from falling debris, including Kuwait, which said that three armed forces members had minor injuries from shrapnel from the interception of drones and ballistic missiles. The United Arab Emirates said one person was killed by falling debris in its capital, and four people were injured and taken to the hospital after an incident in a part of the city of Dubai that is known for luxury hotels.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the US and Israeli strikes “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.” Iran has vowed further action, and Israel has hinted that its actions so far only represent the beginning of its operation. The US has indicated the same.

Flights have been cancelled across the region, and multiple countries have closed their airspaces, resulting in major disruption for what is one of the world’s busiest flight routes.