Please help. Terrified of bowel cancer after 'urgent' referral

[Alex78]

Hi,

I'm 38 and for the last couple of months have had a noticeable change in my bowel habits. I've been having looser, more frequent stools. Each morning now, like clockwork, I will need to go and it is usually loose. I'm also having abdominal cramping and a specific pain under my ribs on my right side. There has been no blood that I can see.

Some family background: my mom, her sister and two of my cousins on that side of the family all have ulcerative colitis.

The doctor examined my stomach and did a rectal exam and confirmed I have piles. He then said he was referring me to a gastroenterologist urgently. He tried to do it under the 2 week wait referall but I'm too young so it's just an urgent referral.

I'm now absolutely terrified that this is bowel cancer. I have terrible health anxiety anyway and this is just pushing all of my buttons. I was expecting him to maybe refer me, but I wasn't prepared for it to be seen as urgent. I asked for reassurance and he just shrugged and said I have some symptoms of it but that I don't fit the profile as I'm under 40 (just!). He also said they would be looking for colitis at this point.

So I have to wait and see but I'm in an awful state and so scared that this might be the beginnings of something terrible. I don't smoke, have a good (vegan) diet and am fairly fit. Can anyone offer me any reassurance or experience? I just cannot cope with the thought of living with this hanging over me for some weeks to come.

Thanks in advance.

[neuroticcat]

I have the same symptoms and a member of my family just passed away from colon cancer. However, I did not worry about cance because I thought that constipation could be a sign, not loose stools.
I'm pretty sure you have something else. Maybe the doctor was concerned about colitis. Maybe it's a food allergy.
Try not to think of the worst scenario and keep yourself busy during these 2 weeks.

[ktdid2000]

I have the same - i go every morning like clockwork and sometimes in the afternoon (which is actually normal for me) but the consistency has changed for the past 3 weeks. They are pretty much all muddy or loose now - yuck. Occasionally I'll have a normal day and think that everything is back to normal but then the next day I'm back to loose again.

My hubby thinks I have IBS since we just moved and there's been a lot of stress lately. I feel like that would have settled down after 3 weeks! Still, occasionally they are normal so there can't be something consistently going on. It's weird.

I have an appointment for the end of June which stinks. I might see my GP in the meantime to see if there's any tests they can run ahead of that. I'm only 35 and no history of anything in the family. My uncle on my dad's side had colon cancer but he was 65 at the time, never had a colonoscopy before that, and smoked like a house on fire for like 30 years.

I'm trying not to think the worst since it's much more likely to be something else but it's hard. :(