Have I got rectal cancer?

[Toby2000]

Get a colonoscopy or any scopy, even if you have to push for it. Im pretty young and had bleedings for over a year, everyone told me It was hemmies or someting, when I got my scopy it was a small benign polyp that was causing all the troubles, they removed it and now everything is fine. If you continue to bleed the doctor have to sent you in for a scopy no matter the age, even toddlers can have polyps or cuts that need treatment.

Im fairly sure you don't have cancer, but bleeding sometimes needs treatments, sometimes the treatment is cream or pills, other times sowing and removing stuff.

also, get some help on the anxiety before it gets even more out of controle, I once reached a point where I could not leave my home and had domed myself with some horrible illness that would slowly kill me... don't go there.

Part of me is like I WANT THAT GODDAMN SCOPE but the other half of me is absolutely petrified. And I mean petrified. It’s good talking about it but facing the reality of possibly seeing cancer on that screen... beyond words

I will obviously try and push for it- as I say I plan on going back soon. Within the next week

Thanks for sharing your story- hearing about incidents of prolonged bleeding that didn’t end up being cancer is always reassuring

And only fairly sure? Am I being too literal but what is it that makes you think I possibly may have it? Stupid question- obviously the bleeding I guess

but thanks again

[nomorepanic]

Toby - you will not have cancer. At most you will you have piles/fissure and maybe IBD/IBS but please stop jumping to conclusions and reading too much into what people say.

Just get it sorted - I keep repeating myself here

[Toby2000]

Toby - you will not have cancer. At most you will you have piles/fissure and maybe IBD/IBS but please stop jumping to conclusions and reading too much into what people say.

Just get it sorted - I keep repeating myself here

Thanks. I hope it’s just some recurring hemherroid. I would SCREAM with happiness. A benign polyp would of course be okay too but waiting for the biopsy results would kill me

As I say, I am going in to the doctors this week so I hope to get it sorted soon

[nomorepanic]

I have lived with Crohn's for 12 years now but I trust the consultants and doctors that treat me.

I have had many polyps removed. I have diverticular but I also have piles and IBS.

I never have a solid bowel movement. It is always loose/diarrhea.

I am still alive and I do not have cancer.

You live with what you have.

You do not have anything yet but are convinced you are dying. You are not and nor am I.

Waiting for results is part of my life - over and over again and not just with Crohn's but all my other health problems - you just deal with it and you cannot change what will happen.

We just get on with living rather than waiting to die!

[venusbluejeans]

I have lived with Crohn's for 12 years now but I trust the consultants and doctors that treat me.

I have had many polyps removed. I have diverticular but I also have piles and IBS.

I never have a solid bowel movement. It is always loose/diarrhea.

I am still alive and I do not have cancer.

You live with what you have.

You do not have anything yet but are convinced you are dying. You are not and nor am I.

Waiting for results is part of my life - over and over again and not just with Crohn's but all my other health problems - you just deal with it and you cannot change what will happen.

We just get on with living rather than waiting to die!

What a brilliant reply, and so true! Lets just hope it is listened to...... I have my doubts though

[MyNameIsTerry]

Get a colonoscopy or any scopy, even if you have to push for it. Im pretty young and had bleedings for over a year, everyone told me It was hemmies or someting, when I got my scopy it was a small benign polyp that was causing all the troubles, they removed it and now everything is fine. If you continue to bleed the doctor have to sent you in for a scopy no matter the age, even toddlers can have polyps or cuts that need treatment.

Im fairly sure you don't have cancer, but bleeding sometimes needs treatments, sometimes the treatment is cream or pills, other times sowing and removing stuff.

also, get some help on the anxiety before it gets even more out of controle, I once reached a point where I could not leave my home and had domed myself with some horrible illness that would slowly kill me... don't go there.

We also have to remember there is a waiting list for these things in the NHS and if his GP doesn't believe this is needed and it's purely for reassurance, it's just pushed another person back who likely needs it more.

---------- Post added at 01:26 ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 ----------

I hadn’t suffered from health anxiety for 3 years before this bleeding incident, I’m only worrying because I believe the symptoms are serious. I think after this I will definitely stop worrying so much about my health again, it feels very much like a blip caused by a genuine scare. But I could be wrong. If something does start up again after I hopefully find out there’s nothing wrong with me, I’ll make more of an effort to get help because then a pattern will have formed

But what about any other anxiety? HA is not any diagnosable form of mental health issue so it overlaps with other proper disorders. This means themes may change but the underlying diagnosable anxiety disorder is the same.

You have an untreated anxiety disorder that finds a trigger and runs with it. It may be a blip in that it had gone away for a while but it's only avoidance not treating it all and hoping it doesn't come back. I se blips as more for those working on recovery, you aren't so this is just the recurrent cycle issue. Look how they are worsening.

You are doing the same when you say you will seek treatment if this doesn't turn out to be anything. Actual cancer patients have therapy alongside their treatment plans. If they can do that to treat what they are going through, and much of it is about thinking and healthy behaviours, why can't you?

[KK77]

I am pleased that you appear to have a plan of action in place. Being afraid is nothing to be ashamed of. If we can see you are really making an effort to do something about all this, rather than ruminating and endlessly listing your symptoms, you will be supported until you get your results, which I'm sure will NOT be the illness you fear.

But you must also learn to have faith in doctors and your results. Anxiety will be tormenting you into believing something was missed or overlooked. This is why anxiety must also be treated. Otherwise tests will have little meaning when HA overwhelms you with fear and panic that you're dying again - this time from some other sinister illness.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes I experience magical thinking a lot too, like earlier for of instance, and other times when I, like, do things a certain number of times to make sure my family don’t die or I don’t die. I used to- and it’s disgusting- stick my fingers down my throat to avoid bad things happening- but I grew out of that. It sounds so weird but I’ve always thought superstitiously

I know it’s about DEALING with thoughts better, but if I was honestly ill, I couldn’t be chilled out about it and I wouldn’t want to be. That would be so depressing. I’d probably end up k**ling myself if I was terminally ill.

I know it doesn’t mean like ignoring symptoms either but it feels like I’m just saying goodbye to everything and not worrying about it would just be like false hope to myself?

It sounds like I’m avoiding it, I’m not, but I just think the help I need is physical help rather than mental because I don’t think mental help would do me well. Or work on me very well because I feel like I see through it, but I’d rather be more alert about my symptoms that just die

It’s hard to explain... I just really need to find out what’s wrong with me, if anything and then at least try to move on and if that doesn’t work then I have no excuses not to seek help

It’s just complicated I guess

I also know that I’d be much more ill with metastatic cancer but I have to wonder because of that result and those patches on my chest. I’ve also been left for 6 months, so whatever it is could’ve spread far in that time

The next step for me is the doctors again where I’ll tell them everything I’m feeling and I won’t take “you have a fissure” for an answer this time without them actually checking because I know it sounds bad but this just won’t be over unless I KNOW I’m well

Thanks for replying, as always

It's about what is a normal level of worry though and people with symptoms that could be cancer are busy going through life as normal with some worries and not this level of obsessive worry. Even if there ever is something wrong, and some day there will be for all of us, this level of worry is unhealthy. People face it and they put their time into their loved ones. Of course, some will experience their own mental health problems from it, some will even end up with anxiety disorders in places like this due to it being a major trigger for such a thing, but most people accept it and take it on. Many with anxiety will take it on, we struggle a lot with the uncertainty but can face what we understand with more of our old strength (obviously, it's not so simply with anxiety but that's certainly something some have done when faced with major stuff).

I've seen someone with advanced cancer and 6 months was the difference between being unwell and being seriously unwell...and they were having various treatments. Untreated, I suspect advanced cancer would mean a very different picture but there are people on here who understand it much more from their own experiences.

If the thought of entering therapy is mentally too much, I can appreciate that. Sometimes things need tackling this way so as not to be too overwhelmed. We just want to ensure you seek therapy because we all know what we are seeing here and even if it was cancer, this is not a normal healthy response to symptoms that you will get over & over in life for many transient health issues.

I also think you need to spend time doing what others have recommended because it's unhealthy to be on here all the time. Set limits on time when you need support. Otherwise it's just obsessing.

As for Google, see above. Fill your time up. You are going to struggle sitting with your anxiety, it's untreated. I think this is essential but it's not easy to sit exposed to all the thoughts as it opens the door to compulsions. You need help dismantling that side.

The Magical Thinking too needs challenging. It's a tricky one but you can beat it as you learn you don't need to do those things. It's a very compulsion based theme so ERP will likely be the way there as well as general work on being less anxious.

[Pkstracy]

I have this on my computer screen each time I log in I see this and it has helped I also use this one

[MrsEd]

Pkstracy - Brilliant, particularly like the last one