Have I got rectal cancer?

[MyNameIsTerry]

The GP said they would scope me to reassure me since that’s the reason I’m going and the reason I was referred

I mean when the doctor felt inside she couldn’t find a hemherroid so I don’t have any evidence of them

Yeah I’m not AS worried about the blood tests but it seems strange that both times I had one, two different things flagged up. But I’m not concerned like you say, the ALP is now in the normal range

Cancer can be pretty sneaky.. most people aren’t ill until the later stages. I just feel like everything is getting worse day by day

I'm not so sure about that, Toby. I question whether that's a nice reassuring statement to get you out of the surgery. They may have recommended testing but did which? Did they say? You are now saying you want a more invasive test that the one you were sure about before so if they don't offer you that where does that leave you?

Your last statement. That can be true for certain cancers but the thing is, those people felt perfectly fine as they had no symptoms. Symptoms come once it advances and by then you are into seeing your health start to deteriorate. At that point it's quick. But getting them spotted by chance pre-symptom onset is because they had a test for something and it was found and that is not your scenario as you have been having symptoms for quite some time now. So, by the logic of your "sneaky" statement you aren't one them as you had already got symptoms and it would have been "sneaky" prior to this meaning by the time you developed symptoms (purely by your own logic) it had now become late stage...and yet you have gone how many more months with no cancer treatment and you are not only alive but able to even get to doctor's appointments without I'm guessing walking aids, wheel chairs, and you are on here when many would just be struggling to get through staying awake or eating.

[Toby2000]

No definitely not, the doctor was amazing and lovely and genuinely kind hearted, it was a different one too since my normal GP is on maternity leave. I told her how many times I’ve come back and she understood that I wouldn’t believe anything unless I had a test. I didn’t even have to persuade her to do it

Yeah that’s true. One thing I’ve always wondered is if it’s a tumour bleeding and tumours only get bigger and worse, why did I see the most blood I’ve seen the first time that I bled and not after- I saw a lot (well, it wasn’t a LOT lot, it was like streaks all along the side of the stool) of blood in December too on the stool but I definitely don’t think it was as much as I saw back in July. And I haven’t bled on to the paper since the first time I bled which is weird, if it were a tumour surely it would happen again if the conditions were the same or even every time I have a harder stool?

But then all logic disappears when I think about the mucus too and the feeling of incomplete evacuation and how those symptoms gradually started appearing which is making me think something is growing and the fact that no piles or anything were felt

[Toby2000]

Oh and yeah she said “they’ll have a look with a camera”

[KK77]

Toby, you're sucking members into discussing your symptoms and coming up with clever replies to discredit everything they say. This is why some members get genuinely angry at these epic threads. It all seems like such a waste of time and effort when members posting here struggle daily too.

We all have a few symptoms which could be misinterpreted and form the basis of a misdiagnosis. Take 3 people and between them you'd probably have the symptoms of a worrying disease.

If you are to see a specialist, it is they who will decide on whether you have this costly procedure, and I'm sorry to bear "bad" news (ironic really), but on age alone your symptoms are not severe enough to justify a scope.

[Toby2000]

No. I don’t force people to reply and I accept and agree with most things that people say but it’s just complicated with HA. I’m sorry if I’m annoying I just have nowhere else to turn at least not until I get checked out

I am definitely being referred to see a specialist, I don’t think them giving me the scope would be a problem since I have had unexplained blood and mucus and I’ve seen other threads from people my age who got scoped with the same reasons.

This worry is genuinely making me ill, every day is a huge chore and I feel the same going to toilet as I do having to go to the dentist or hospital, it feels like a clinical scary environment now where bad things will happen and instead of receiving bad news like you do in a hospital I’m betting on if I’ll see blood or whatever or leave the bathroom with an annoying sensation or a piece of toilet paper with blood on it that I force myself to save to inspect in the future

I genuinely don’t think I’ll have a future unless I get checked out, I have a few things (holidays etc) coming up in the summer and I want to enjoy them and feel good about life again instead of thinking about death during them and feeling sad and depressed

And for instance my grandma is in hospital now after an operation and I was supposed to see her today but I didn’t go because the hospital environment would not go down well with my current mindset

[brucealmighty]

I`d really stop saving pieces of sh*tty toilet paper for future reference Toby, you`re not a forensic scientist and if anything is going to make you actually ill I`d say soiled loo roll is up there with any health threats
do you have any hobbies or interests, friends, social activities, outdoor pursuits, anything apart from living on this forum telling the world the same thing over and over?
nothing any of us tell you makes any difference. I`ve had extreme HA myself and no one anywhere could convince me I was ok. eventually it sank in and I`m fine these days, but posting endlessly on here won`t help you I promise

[Toby2000]

I used to go to college but dropped out because of how bad my mental health is, I found it hard to revise and focus in lessons when I was more focused on other stuff and I’d be skipping lessons because of late nights obsessing. Obviously I plan on doing something soon if I get the all clear, I really want to start turning my life around but I’m just stuck now

Maybe it’s not healthy but this forum does help, massively

[KK77]

No. I don’t force people to reply and I accept and agree with most things that people say but it’s just complicated with HA. I’m sorry if I’m annoying I just have nowhere else to turn at least not until I get checked out

t

You're misquoting me again, Toby. I said "sucking in" - ie, luring/tempting. As anxiety sufferers, members here not only have a desire to help and support you but also to make you see "sense".

You're not personally annoying me but the length of this thread alone speaks volumes for itself.

Keep posting if you feel you've nowhere else to turn but repeating yourself won't change reality.

[Toby2000]

You're misquoting me again, Toby. I said "sucking in" - ie, luring/tempting. As anxiety sufferers, members here not only have a desire to help and support you but also to make you see "sense".

You're not personally annoying me but the length of this thread alone speaks volumes for itself.

Keep posting if you feel you've nowhere else to turn but repeating yourself won't change reality.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to misquote

If I do get the all clear I want to use my story and experience to help others with similar symptoms who come on here 100% convinced they have colon cancer, I know I get a lot of relief from reading threads where the outcome has been good yet the symptoms suggested something nasty. That would be one good thing to come out of this

[Carys]

Maybe it’s not healthy but this forum does help, massively

I'm glad it does Toby....and for what its worth I am looking forward to you starting the 'turning your life around' stuff. I think you are such an intelligent, thoughtful, polite, diplomatic and reflective young man, whom I'm sure has much to offer in the future to whatever you decide to focus on.