Bowel cancer

[AnxietySufferer]

Okay so a 22 year old I know has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer... This has made me even more paranoid that I sibyls get my own symptoms checked out and has bought up all the worry agai Maine I still get a sore stomach etc and now I'm just so scared :(

[Andrash]

Okay so a 22 year old I know has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer... This has made me even more paranoid that I sibyls get my own symptoms checked out and has bought up all the worry agai Maine I still get a sore stomach etc and now I'm just so scared :(

Look at it this way:

Chances to have bowel cancer at young age are 1:10000000.

As your acquaintance was so unlucky, it leaves plenty of good odds for you-chances for two young people who know each-other to both develop bowel cancer are zero. Zilch.

You don't have bowel cancer, or any other cancer. Convinced! :)

I wish fast recovery and life-long remission for your friend!

[LunaLiuna]

Didn't I see you say your sixteen? I imagine the chances of getting it are incredibly small.

I know it's hard believing the statistics, but they're right, and your name kinda sums it up really ;)

Don't let your dragon pull you into another hole, put him in his cage. I understand it's hard, but you can do it. Being the same age as you I know how hard it is but I'm getting through it and so can you. even though I still think somethings wrong with my head, i laugh at it now because it's so ironic :D

I imagine there would be a lot of other things going wrong like blood after the toilet, intense pain etc.

Your going to be fine :)

[Fishmanpa]

This is your "biggie". Your very first post back in November of last year was about bowel cancer and you thought you had it then, even though a medical professional told you otherwise.

You'd be pretty sick by now if you had it.

Positive thoughts

[Tanner40]

Ditto on what Fishmanpa and Luna both said. If you had bowel cancer all of this time, you'd be one extremely sick person. You know that you have anxiety? What are you doing today to help ease your anxiety. I find CBT and talking back to my irrational thoughts really helps me to find the sane, rational being inside. If you haven't tried CBT, there is a free online course which is excellent. Take heart, you have anxiety and thatnis a fight all of it's own. One that you can beat by taking charge of your life and your thoughts, thereby controlling your emotions.

[paul80]

I was really convinced I had bowel cancer just before last Christmas, but my blood and stool tests were negative. As others have said, if you did have bowel cancer, you'd be in a poor state by now. The problem is that anxiety often affects the bowel and so it feeds your fears. I agree with what others have suggested - CBT could help ease your anxiety. I hope you feel better soon.

[unsure_about_this]

I was convinced also I had bowel cancer or something else with my abdominal pain, with my latest scan result came back with nothing serious wrong. I can now convinced myself that I should have been believe the GP about IBS in the 1st place.

Sorry to hear about the person with bowel cancer. Like others have said if it was bowel cancer or another cancer I think you will be in a bad way by now

[AnxietySufferer]

Thankyou so much for all of your very kind responses it honestly means so much to me and this site has really helped me to cope over the last 6 months so i cant thank you all enough! Luna, im 17, the problem is, somtimes im just so convinced that I have the 'red flag signs' like at one point i was in tears because there was some blood on a couple of occasions.. there hasnt been any blood since but it still plays on my mind.. i cant help but think back to it, i know i should feel reassured by the blood tests im just finding it really hard! Im glad i told my doctor about my fear.. she actually looked me in the eye and said YOU do not have cancer, there is more risk involved in crossing the road and that doesnt worry you so stop panicing. But it easier said than done :( i constantly think what if shes wrong.. i feel as though because of my age they dont take me seriously.. i know its part of anxiety but i just keep thinking what if they have missed somthing important.. i when they feel for lumps and stuff.. i always think well that would only be in the late stages when it would probably be too late.. especially with bowel cancer which is slow progressing i always think why cant they check me properly just in case :( i need to accept that inless i go private this is not going to happen (they say im too young for a colonoscopy and it will cause uneeded stress). I wish they would at least do a stool test.. but thats life i guess...
thankyou for all your responses :)