• Jenna Scott was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer aged 31 despite being fit and healthy.
• Misdiagnosed symptoms during pregnancy delayed her cancer diagnosis, complicating treatment.
• She expects to undergo treatment for the rest of her life to keep the cancer at bay.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jenna Scott a 39-year-old Chief Operating Officer in Peach Tree Corners, Georgia. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

For the first three decades of my life, everything was great. I was a cheerleader in middle school and college, where I met my husband.

We got married in 2015 and our friends would say we were living a fairytale.

I got pregnant with our son, Cameron, that year and I thought, "Oh, how could life get any better?"

But in 2017, at the age of 31, I was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer.

The doctor said my symptoms were related to my pregnancy

My symptoms started when I was around seven or eight months pregnant. I told my obstetrician I had really bad abdominal cramping and rectal and vaginal bleeding, but he said not to worry because they were pregnancy symptoms.

It was my first pregnancy so I thought: "This is what pregnancy is like, I can handle it, I'm tough."

My abdominal pain didn't go away after I gave birth and my obstetrician put it down to the C-section. Cameron was my main concern. I was always tired, too, but didn't want to complain.

I saw a doctor who gave me some IBS pills and said he'd refer me to a GI specialist if they didn't work.

They didn't, so he sent me to a GI specialist who told me: "Why are you in my office? You're way too young."

On June 29, 2017, just over a year after Cameron was born, I had a colonoscopy and woke up to four nurses, my doctor, and my husband in the room.

The doctor told me: We found cancer.

Cancer doesn't run in my family and I didn't understand how it could have happened to me at 31.

Stage four cancer changed everything

I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The oncologist said they couldn't see the cancer that well on the CT scan because I had so much muscle and so little fat.

It didn't make sense and I shut down. My husband and mom were more emotional than me.

After that appointment, we collected my son from day care and I just held him. He'd just turned one: how could I process the thought that he might not know me?

Life quickly became full of doctors' appointments and scans, and my employer took away my larger projects so I could focus on my health. I had worked hard to get them so it felt unfair but in hindsight, they were right.

I started chemo on August 9. It took eight hours every other week at the hospital, then a 46-hour drip at home with a portable pack. I had insomnia, hallucinations, and anxiety. I would look at the baby monitor and see one of my coworkers in my son's crib, or tarantulas crawling across my hands.

I had 11 months of chemo, stopped for a few months, then was told it had spread to my colon, liver, and lungs, so I started another 11 months of treatments and surgeries.

By 2021, I was on a lower "maintenance" chemo dose to keep the cancer at bay. I would take six chemo pills every day, alongside various others, which made me very sick and kept me at home when I wanted to be present for my son.

One day I decided I just didn't want to do it anymore and my doctor said I could stop for a while. But by Christmas 2022, the cancer was in my lymph nodes. I waited until the new year to start treatment so I could have my storybook Christmas.

Even with insurance, medical bills were a nightmare

I had to pay a lot out of pocket that first year before my insurance provider could reimburse me, including $500 upfront for the colonoscopy. That was a lot alongside expenses like our mortgage and day care costs.

My husband's insurance plan was really good but I started having issues a couple of years in when appointments were back-to-back and I was racking up bills of about $3,000 a month. The hospital kept calling me for payments and we considered selling our house and moving in with our parents.

Eventually, my husband's friends encouraged him to set up a GoFundMe page, which raised $17,000 in just a few hours while I was having surgery, and $30,000 in 17 days. I felt betrayed at first, but my mom helped me see it as a blessing.

My son looks out for me

Seeing my son grow up has been keeping me together this whole time. We've been reading kids' books about cancer and emotions to Cameron for years and he's starting to understand what's happening.

Once he asked me, "Mommy, can you die from cancer?" and I froze. I didn't know what to say. He cries at night about it, holds me, and tells me he doesn't want me to leave. But he takes good care of me. When my hair was longer, he used to put it in a ponytail for me and put chapstick on my lips.

Today, my cancer status is "non-detectable." I have chemo every four weeks and expect to be on this maintenance regime indefinitely, an idea I struggled to cope with at first.

I work full time, which is hard as I've had a lot of side effects. I've passed out a few times, my body overheats so badly I have to take off all my clothes, I feel like I have to vomit but my body won't do it, and I barely sleep for days at a time. This is my life now.

I try to stay busy to take my mind off the tough treatments. When I have chemo on Fridays and Cameron, who's now nearly nine, has a baseball game on Saturday morning, I'm there with my portable pack just doing everything that I can, even though I feel tired and nauseous and vomit a lot.

And I'm so grateful to our family and friends who still come over to cook and clean for us after eight years. But because the cancer treatment side effects are cumulative, having a happy life is really hard.

I'm hoping I have a long life ahead of me, but I don't want to be on this treatment forever and am perpetually crossing my fingers that science can discover new treatments.

I've realized the things I used to stress about are completely manageable and I have so many blessings. I tell everybody that life is good, it's just how you look at it.

I want young people to understand that they're not untouchable. You need to get regular check-ups and advocate for yourself.

Like his "White Lotus" character Saxon Ratliff, Patrick Schwarzenegger is a lover of smoothies determined to match his parents' stratospheric success.

While his arrogant and shallow character rubbed many viewers the wrong way, Schwarzenegger, however, is nothing but charming as we chat on the phone while he gets his steps in around LA. "I walk and talk," he explains.

I've discovered there are parts of Schwarzenegger's routine that Saxon would be positively allergic to, such as heading to the beach with his fiancée in the morning to say prayers and share a moment of gratitude.

For the latest installment of Business Insider's "5-9" series, which Schwarzenegger took part in to promote Venmo's new debit card, the 31-year-old actor shared how else he spends the hours of the day when he's not working.

What time do you usually get up, and what's your morning routine?

I've gone to a new state or country every week since "The White Lotus" came out, so it's been a whirlwind of not having a routine and waking up at the most random times.

This is my first full week in LA since the start of the year, and it's been great. I got up today at 6.15 a.m. — I never set an alarm clock, but I always wake up around 6 a.m. My fiancée and I went on a walk for our coffee and then down to the beach to say our gratitude and prayers.

Usually, I'd work out after, but I didn't today as my fiancée had to go to the airport. So we made some breakfast, I had a sauna, and then went to the office.

What do you have for breakfast?

This morning, I had egg bites and Greek yogurt with berries, which is what I have on most days: eggs, Greek yogurt, fruit, or oatmeal. I try to get 40 to 50 grams of protein and some sort of carbs and fat.

Do you eat before or after working out, or both?

Afterward, if I'm working out really early in the morning, but sometimes I'll have something light before, like some fruit and nuts or peanut butter and banana.

Much has been made of your character's love of smoothies on "The White Lotus." Are you a fan?

Oh yes, I am. I used to drink smoothies all the time. Now I don't drink them as much, but I do love them. This conversation is actually making me want to go get a smoothie.

If I'm gearing up for a role or a project and I need to gain weight, then I will bring in the smoothies because they help me get a lot of calories quickly. So I do love a peanut butter banana smoothie.

The best combo.

10,000 steps and recovering in the sauna

Tell me more about your approach to working out.

I work out in the mornings when I can and try to get my 10,000 steps in too.

Are you walking now?

I am. I walk and talk. I try to do five days of lifting a week, and some sort of cardio. I stay pretty active.

Do you follow a particular workout split?

I usually do a push day, pull day, and leg day, or a more cardio-focused full-body day. Sometimes I do typical weight training, other days more high-intensity interval style.

What are your recovery essentials?

Food, sleep, and hydration are the main things. I love the sauna, the jacuzzi, and massages, but they're less important.

When you're not working, how do you relax and have fun?

Working out is fun for me. It is part of my daily life and what I like to do, and I feel better. And the same with my eating.

I also like going on walks, hanging with my friends and family, hiking, biking, and watching movies and TV shows. I love cooking and baking and finding new coffee shops, and I use my new Venmo debit card for all of it.

Martinis and early nights

What do you like to have for dinner, and who cooks?

I would get in trouble if I said I always cook dinner. Abby cooks most of the time. I cook breakfast pretty much every morning, although she made the egg bites today.

We go out frequently, but try to cook as much as possible when we're in town because we're not often here.

What's your favorite thing to cook?

We cook sweet potatoes every night. We love Japanese sweet potatoes. We also make a lot of eggs and pancakes. Abby makes a really good chicken salad. She makes a bunch of good stuff for me.

Lucky you.

I know, seriously.

So what's your ideal evening when you're at home?

Well, last night Abby and I went and did a workout together. We did this hot Pilates class, and then we picked up some food, made dinner, had a little dessert, went on a walk afterward for the sunset, then watched a movie. If it's a date night, we go out, get some cocktails, and have fun.

Do you have a favorite cocktail?

I've been on a martini kick in recent years.

Nice. Do you have a nighttime routine?

No, I don't really. I kind of just get in bed, and I'm usually pretty tired from the day. I try not to watch TV in the bedroom, and I fall asleep pretty easily at around 10 p.m. I try to get eight hours.

I suppose when you're so active, you get into bed and you're exhausted.

Yeah, exactly … I'm always out in the sun and walking around, and I sleep better.