Irrational fear of bowel cancer

[walter32]

This is such a great resource to read and it has calmed me down a few times. Thank you all!

So - I'm a male, 33 years old... Only family history of bowel / colon cancer is an uncle and he was in his late fifties - so even though his death was a great loss and probably started my fears of BC, it is not evidence that I'm at a higher risk than everyone else for genetic/family reasons. (Google says you need two close relatives for that - and an uncle wouldn't even be considered a "close" relative according to that definition).

Otherwise I am totally healthy. AND. I even had a colonoscopy done just to be sure - exactly a year ago. No polyps found - everything was 100% OK and healthy. I feel good too.

But. I can't stop worrying that I have this disease.

I suffer from HA in general - but with my other worries they seem to calm down over time... The problem with my worries of bowel cancer is that I'm reminded about them every time I take a shit (excuse my language).

I think it's a habit that I developed because it took me a long time to get my colonoscopy done in the first place... I started fearing about colon cancer when I think I saw blood in my stool a couple of years back (after my uncle passed away) ... It then took me more than a year until I finally took the consequence of these constant fears and had a colonoscopy done a year ago.

In that period I guess I developed the habit of basically having "fear" / worries of seeing blood every time I went to the bathroom. I'd confuse anything for blood and think I saw blood even when it wasn't there.

And now - even after I got the colonoscopy with 100% normal results last year - the fear keeps coming. I fear that I have developed the disease in the year that has passed since my colonoscopy - although I know that it usually takes much longer to develop BC...

The weird thing is that this is my only real fear - I don't REALLY worry so much about other diseases and would say I'm pretty emotionally stable otherwise.

But my fear of bowel cancer is just such a disturbance in my life.

It will usually be small stuff I worry about - like "did I just see blood in there today?", "is the color a little different or darker than normal?" . . . Even "is this spot in my boxer shorts from blood?" . . . "It itched / hurt a little bit during my BM today - could this be blood making the BM feel more painful / itchy" . . . etc...

I've tried not to look at the stool but then I just start worrying about the color of any traces of the BM that are left in the toilet after I flush. It just won't stop!

Seems like I've basically just programmed myself to worry about this disease everytime I have a bowel movement!?!

What I'm hoping to get out of this post - I guess - is just reassurance that I don't have bowel cancer.

I know that this reassurance can only come from within. But, for instance, hearing other people say that a colonoscopy with normal results will cover you for at least more than a year (it's a year ago now) will still help me convince myself to relax. BC would almost always not develop so quickly right?

I guess in the long run I'll need to see a psychologist about this - but it's just such a gross subject to discuss. Thank god for the anonymity of this forum!

I know there'll always be a minimal risk of BC (or any other disease). But in my case - given my age, my lack of any serious family history, a 100% normal colonoscopy from only a year ago etc. - the risk is incredibly, incredibly minimal. . . And definitely not so big that it really makes sense to spend so much time worrying about it - considering the trade off: a reduced life quality.

Yet I'll be reminded everytime I take a shit - and reason and sensibility just doesn't work much on me with this particular fear!

Any tips on how I can get over this?! PLEASE! My life would be so much better if colon cancer (or rather, the fear of it) didn't exist as a concept.

[swajj]

The colonoscopy would have detected bowel cancer if you had it. You don't have it. I had a colonoscopy done just over a year ago. The specialist found 1 polyp which was benign. He told me that I wouldn't need to have another colonoscopy for 5 years. He went on to say that it would have been 10 years if I didn't have the polyp. Your fear is irrational but you know the answer. Go and see a therapist.

[ricardo]

I had a flexi Sigmoidoscopy yesterday morning.prep was 40 minutes,procedure 5 minutes.

I have had a fear of constipation for 40 years and actually interferes with my daily life sometimes.I can't explain why, it must be deep rooted.


I had stool tests, a sigmoidscope hand held to detect colon cancer and all were negative,but my doctor wanted me to have the test to help with my anxiety,she didn't suspect anything, and to be fair I have never had one and being over 60, it was prudent to suggest this, regardless how anxious I was..

The test was all clear no polyps but standard biopsy taken but the doctor said there was nothing sinister, everything .

They are introducing this test for anyone over 50 on the NHS shortly,so my specialist told me yesterday, to be reviewed every 5 years. I believe this is already standard practice in the USA.

As swajj has said go and see a therapist,you have irrational fears.

[DonnaT]

This was one of my biggest fears, I had lots of symptoms for a while, including bleeding a lot. I went to see a gastroenterologist, he said to me this, if we don't find anything there then you will not have to come back again. If we find a polyp they will test it to see if there is anything there, if there is NOT then we don't have to do another colonoscopy for 5 years. I also worried about the colour changes of my stool and he said they will change every day. because of my health anxiety I have a very bad time trusting doctors and I looked around to find a good doctor. I trust this doctor. I know how it feels to have this worry. I still panic sometimes but I think its because ive worried about it so long unfortunately it had become a habit to look down the toilet. YOU HAVE TO TELL YOURSELF YOU ARE ALL CLEAR, YOU KNOW THAT FOR A FACT Its hard to stop the ritual of checking but make up your mind before you go in there not to check I have a conversation with myself all the time, my family think I am mad as a hatter, they are used to it now, do what works for you, checking is a problem that keeps that anxiety going, like a log on a fire. All the best, I have severe anxiety and I wouldn't of written this to you if I didn't trust the doctors words. YOU ARE FINE. STOP CHECKING All the best hope this helps in some way