It's been a turbulent few weeks for Jose Corado, culminating last night when the Guatemala native said goodbye to his parents, not knowing when, or if, he'll see them again.

Magda and Raul Corado left Monday from Salt Lake City International Airport on an order of deportation. Jose Corado, 24, has also been ordered to leave the country by May 11.

But Jose Corado is a colon cancer patient at Huntsman Cancer Institute, hoping not only to survive but for a reprieve so that he can continue to receive treatment here.

He's apprehensive about losing his mother's care and attention as he anticipates the physically draining chemotherapy treatment again.

"She was a big support factor in my life in dealing with, especially, the chemo," he said. "Knowing I won't have that support, it is different. No one is going to treat you like your mom will."

Jose says he has been living with cancer since 2001, and doctors have told him his case is terminal. His faith, however, gives him hope that he'll survive.

After 16 years in America, the family's ongoing applications for legal status, starting with an application for political asylum, have been exhausted, and they've been ordered to leave the country. The family tried to get a six-month stay of deportation for Jose's treatment earlier this month, but they were granted only a few weeks.

"It's quite unusual" for this type of cancer to occur in someone as young as Corado, said Randall Burt, professor of medicine and director of prevention and outreach at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Fewer than 1 percent of cases occur younger than 40, Burt said, sometimes due to family risk factors but the majority "just arise sporadically."

Because the cancer is so rare in such young patients, most people aren't screened for it until 50, he said. So, in younger patients, the cancer is often detected only after it starts to cause symptoms.

"By the time colon cancers cause symptoms, they are often in the later stages ... and are often not curable," he said. "Colon cancer is slow growing, the tumor progresses over time; if it is detected early it makes a difference."

For those detected in earlier stages, the survival rate is 80 to 90 percent or higher, Burt said. By the time symptoms develop that survival rate drops to 20 to 30 percent, or even lower, he said.

The family has expressed concern about whether Jose would receive the same level of care in Guatemala as he receives here. There is a colon cancer treatment program in Guatemala City, which is free or reduced cost for those with financial need, according to the Guatemalan consulate in Denver. Attempts by the Deseret Morning News to reach the Guatemalan cancer center were unsuccessful.