Chloe Melas Shares Her IBD Journey and New Book on Gut Health

WHO:

NBC News - Chloe Melas is an NBC entertainment correspondent who has ulcerative colitis.

NBC News - Dr. Natalie Azar is an NBC medical contributor; she discussed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on TODAY.

Women’s Health - Chloe Melas co-authored *The Girl’s Guide to Guts* with Judy Batalion.

Women’s Health - Melas’s husband is Brian Mazza; the article says they have two sons.

Women’s Health - Robert Redford started the Sundance Film Festival.

WHAT:

NBC News - Melas said she sometimes needed to use the bathroom 15 to 20 times a day and sometimes found blood in her stool. She initially ignored the symptoms.

NBC News - Melas said her mother urged her to see a gastroenterologist. After a colonoscopy, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

NBC News - Melas was first diagnosed with proctitis, an inflammation of the rectum. Medication left her feeling backed up and unable to defecate, and she continued to see blood in her stool.

NBC News - Melas’s book, *The Girl’s Guide to Guts: Everything Your Doc Didn’t Tell You (But Your Bestie Would)*, recounts her IBD experience and offers guidance for living with a digestive condition.

NBC News - Azar said ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are the two most common forms of IBD, which arise when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. She distinguished IBD from irritable bowel syndrome, which is thought to involve the gut-brain connection.

NBC News - Azar said IBD can affect the eyes, joints, and skin, and is associated with increased colon-cancer risk. She noted that symptoms can also indicate diverticulitis or colon cancer.

NBC News - Melas said women’s blood-in-stool symptoms are sometimes dismissed as hemorrhoids, even when the cause is colon cancer. “Do not ignore them,” she said of concerning symptoms.

NBC News Health - Melas appeared on TODAY to discuss her book and ulcerative colitis; Azar discussed misconceptions about IBD.

NBC News Health - Melas said she had coped with stomach issues for 15 years.

Women’s Health - Melas described soiling her white pants during a Sundance event, then returning to her hotel room, crying, and skipping the remaining events. She said it was the only time she had soiled herself.

Women’s Health - Melas said she mapped nearby bathrooms, limited food, timed meals before travel, and sometimes became dehydrated from fear that even water would trigger symptoms.

WHERE:

NBC News - Melas discussed her symptoms and book on the TODAY Show.

Women’s Health - The described Sundance incident occurred in Park City, Utah; the festival was held at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

WHEN:

NBC News - Melas said her symptoms began in her early 20s; she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 25 after about two years of symptoms.

Women’s Health - Melas said she had battled ulcerative colitis for 15 years and that symptoms had begun 18 months before the Sundance trip described.

Women’s Health - Melas said she and Brian began dating in 2012. The Sundance Film Festival was a week-long event and, until 2026, was held in Park City, Utah.

(UPDATED November 10, 2026 07:00 UTC)

NBC correspondent Chloe Melas says a colonoscopy diagnosed her ulcerative colitis after years of symptoms. She shares her experience in a book, including how the disease disrupted daily life. Melas urges people not to ignore blood in stool; it may signal serious illness.