Scared I have Bowel Cancer.

[xRyana]

Bit of a story here. I'm 32 and 2 years ago I had a bout of constipation that lasted for about 12 days then went away. During that time I was scared I had bowel cancer and took a FOBT test which came back positive for blood. I didn't do anything about it because I thought it was due to being constipated and straining.

Fast forward about 2 months ago I started feeling this slight fatigue,I thought it was low iron due to not having much greens in my diet but the past week the fatigue hit hard and I was exhausted and its not gone away since. I have other Anemia symtons like metal taste in my mouth. I've also been having some stomach issues and still get on and off constipation. In short I'm scared of having bowel cancer as this seem the classic symtoms. I have had health anxiety but mainly because I think the worst but I feel going by the symtoms Its not unreasonable.

[Yourboymj99]

Hey there,

Sounds like you may have a bit of ibs. Your only 32 which makes bowel cancer a very unlikely culprit. You may just have a sensitive digestive tract and coupled with anxiety can cause the issues you speak of and then some. Maybe try and increase your water intake and eat whole foods and fiber to see if that helps. I don't know what your diet consists of but that's where I'd start.

Take care

[Hypo84]

If you were constipated and had blood in your feces 2 years ago which were caused by cancer, than it would most likely be advanced enough cancer that it was causing you those symptoms. The fact that those symptoms didn't get a lot, lot worse for two years, means it wasn't cancer.

[RadioGaGa]

Constipation like you describe is almost never ever a symptom of bowel cancer. And that’s excluding the fact this occurred two years ago. When that’s taken into consideration,- and you don’t report it continuing, you can rule bowel cancer out as a cause.

I’ve read a LOT of stories on here about people self-testing with FOBTs. No good will ever come of this because these tests are not specific; yes, if blood is present on the swab it will be detected. But what it can’t tell you is what’s causing it. So if it’s caused by a haemorrhoid (which can be inside, otherwise asymptomatic, and can’t be seen) a fissure, the test won’t tell you that.

It can/will then start a cycle of anxiety and worry.

Besides at 32, without a family history, bowel cancer is a very very unlikely cause.

And if you’re a female, heavy periods can cause anaemi, especially if you’re vegetarian/vegan or following some other similar kind of diet.

Good luck