Bowel cancer fear. Again.

[puzzledlass]

This is a constant fear of mine and it won't go away. I'm sure I've seen blood on the paper before (not from excessive wiping or outside irritation) and just nowmi went and there were pink flecks.

I have told the doc my concerns and she have a fobt which came back clear but I am still worried sick. I feel now she just dismisses my concerns about bowel cancer.

I don't know what to do.

[Justinf]

Do you mind if I ask your age?
My dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer about three months ago and I was referred for a colonoscopy because I have a first degree relative with the disease. I am 44. It came back clear except for one polyp, which was removed during the procedure and was found to be pretty harmless.
It has given me great peace of mind, even though my heart is breaking for my dad, who is my best mate.
If the FOBT you had is clear, you should not worry, but I know it is easier said than done.
You could ask for a colonoscopy and offer to pay for it all yourself. They will not refer you for one as you don't have any symptoms.

[puzzledlass]

I am 30. I'm sorry to hear about your Dad :(

I've seen blood and that's when they have fobt. Since then I've had pink bits and pink flecks which has worried me a lot.

I don't even think they will refer me for a colonoscapy, I wish they would.

[hanshan]

Hello Puzzledlass,

Can I ask what psychological treatment / medication you are receiving? I am sure you are aware that your anxiety is a major issue.

It is reasonable to be fearful of bowel cancer, but it is easy to detect and progresses slowly. If you have had a test and it has come back clear, there is usually no need for another test for several years, even if you are over 50 (I'm not sure what age you are).

[puzzledlass]

I'm 30. I know my anxiety is a problem...I'm on sertraline which used to work well but for some reason last year and this has been brutal.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[puzzledlass]

Cheers Nicola

[hanshan]

As best I can read the graph (which I can't seem to copy here), the number of newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer per year in the UK for people aged 30 - 34 is five cases (5) per year per 100,000 population.

If you do a Google search for bowel cancer statistics and then select images, you will see numerous graphs which show that bowel cancer barely rates as a disease for people in their thirties.

If the sertraline is not working, it may be worth discussing a change of medication with your doctor, or a referral for psychological help, if you are covered.

[puzzledlass]

It's difficult. Really difficult.

Thing is, I know SOMETHING is up with my bowel. Cancer or not, something isn't right and I wish experts would look into that a bit more you know? It's so so easy to dismiss someone as anxious and having ibs that it's like it's not even considered to look deeper.

[fallingstar]

If it makes you feel better without going into tooooooo much detail on my end, or too little..... I've bled at random times for years now. I was diagnosed with IBS many years ago, which I know I have. However, since then, I haven't had it checked out by a gastro specialist, which I will in a week and a half (and I'll let you know the results then if you'd like!). Since then, I've been having mucus & blood, gas, constipation, looseness of stool almost diarrhea but still intact! I read recently that mucus excretion with bowels can be due to your gut/bowels basically fighting off what isn't there... mucus makes everything work, etc. If you go to a health site or google it, you'll probably find the same information. As far as me, it sucks because I'm definitely having a flare up of whatever I have. I believe with all my heart I have Ulcerative Colitis... which sucks but it's not the worst you can have so I'm positive on that possibility as much as I can be. My uncle has Chron's so as long as I don't have that I'm thankful. Even that's manageable though with the right care.
I would take a second look at your diet and eliminate a few things you may think might irritate you... do one thing every couple weeks and see if you notice any difference. Some people can't handle dairy or meat or wheat or whatever it may be. Could just be as simple as your diet. Could also be the bowels, but as I read too, to be in your 30s there's succccch little little risk of you actually having bowel cancer. I've been bleeding and have mucus on and off for years (Im 29) and I'm fine. That being said, I'm finally getting my butt (no pun intended) to the doctor for that issue. As far as you, definitely see a doctor to quell your anxiety about it, but also make sure that if they're not taking your concerns seriously, you need to find a new doctor who will. Any doctor you have should hear you out and at least test you for IBS, UC, or whatever else... do a simple bowels check up... if you know what is causing it; alcohol, caffeine, stress, spicy foods, a type of food or a disease (manageable), then you can know how to manage it and your stress about thinking the worst case scenario will disappear and go away.
P.S. I also have internal hemorrhoids (not overly gross or anything... they're not visible).... that does cause some of the bleeding or may be the only cause of bleeding, but you could just have simple hemorrhoids. While sounding gross, they're not if you take care of yourself through good fiber diet (more or less depending) and clean yourself well and try not to push or irritate with harsh toilet paper!