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15, male and worried I have bowel cancer!

Posted , 5 users are following.

jamiestraw
jamiestraw

Dark Red blood in stool, like cherry or plumb coloured.

Okay I'm a 15 yr old male, so for like a month or more, on 3 occasions I have forgot to flush the toilet when emptying my bowels. So like half an hour later I would go back and see like a red shadow surrounding the stool, like not black Red, like plumb red, dark red blood. I can't see any in the stool just in the bowl. There is quite a lot of it as well. Also I have started to see white specs in my poo, my bowels are making noises and I have occasional abdominal pain. Also I keep having either soft or hard stools, sometimes I have to have a bit of water to let it come out.

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • PaulBen
    PaulBen jamiestraw

    Posted

    You'd be very young to have bowel cancer, although it's not unheard of at your age. It's people over the age of 50 who are more likely to develop that. So somehow I doubt that's what you have. Monitor your 'poo' for at least another week, and if there's any more definite incidents of blood then see your doctor asap snd arrange to have a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy at your local hospital
  • dragon21
    dragon21 jamiestraw

    Posted

    Hi Jamie,

    I would say the same to anyone who is worried about their health, go and see your doctor.

    Having had bowel Cancer myself I can understand that it can be embarrassing to talk about, but believe me, doctors have seen it all, hundreds of times. You are very young, unlikely to be Bowel cancer, but, if it is, the sooner it is diagnosed and treated the greater the chance of a full recovery (I am now coming up for four years cancer free, because it was diagnosed early). Please go and see your doctor and get your mind put at rest.

    • jamiestraw
      jamiestraw dragon21

      Posted

      It is embarrassing, especially for me as a teenager, the thought of having a colonoscopy is frightening, even the inspection makes me feel embarrassed. Thank you so much I will most likely visit the doctor. Would I be rude to ask your age of diagnosis, and congratulations by the way!
  • anthony10484
    anthony10484 jamiestraw

    Posted

    Jamie, I agree with the others who have responded, talk to the professionals ASAP.  Even though it is probably not bowel cancer, there is obviously something needing attention and the sooner it is diagnosed the better.

    The second piece of advice is: don't panic!  Modern techniques mean that actions needed to deal with problems are usually very effective.  I used to have two particular concerns, underging surgery and developing cancer.  Last year I had to face up to both, my particular problem being bowel cancer.  The operation was actually something of an anticlimax!  It took place in the morning and an hour or two hours waking up in a side ward I was being fed a full size meal then discharged four days later.  It made me wonder why I used to be so apprehensive.  So, if I as a 78 year old can get through this sort of thing with no problems, someone of your age should find it an absolute breeze.

    The biggest lesson that I learned was to trust the professionals, they are well organised to cope with whatever treatment you need.

    I hope that your particular problem is relatively minor and easy to deal with but, as I said earlier, get the professional involved as soon as you can.

    • SandraR69
      SandraR69 anthony10484

      Posted

      Hi Anthony,

      Like the others say go to your doctors and let them be the judge of it. I had bowel cancer at the age of 26 so things aren't always like the book says, you might just need to change your diet you could be straining yourself, could be piles, but let your doctor decide.

      Good luck and tell us what happens when you do go.

    • jamiestraw
      jamiestraw anthony10484

      Posted

      Yes, it's the scare of having time of school, which must be surprising as many kids my age would jump at the chance to get time of school, but missing school is a big bummer if it is cancer as I have many aspirations, and I wouldn't want a disease taking it away from me.

      Thanks for the reply smile

    • anthony10484
      anthony10484 jamiestraw

      Posted

      Even if it is bowel cancer, you would not need to take all that much time off school.  When I had an operation to remove the relevant bit of my colon, I was in hospital for just four days.  Even though there was some residual soreness, it did not stop me carrying out my normal activities.  The need for chemo does require many hospital visits but even these can be organised to minimise disruption to normal activities, especially if your local area offers the possibility of district nurses carrying out some of the procedures at your home.

      In a previous post you mentioned being frightened by the idea of a colonoscopy.  There is no need for this, it is not a difficult procedure and you will be offered either sedation while the procedure is being carried out or the use of entonox gas.  I opted for ther latter and found that I rarely needed to use the gas, it also meant that I could observe the pictures that were comong from the camera as it travelled through the colon and was able to drive home after a very short recovery time.

  • SandraR69
    SandraR69 jamiestraw

    Posted

    Reply to anthony10484

    ★2

    SandraR69 anthony104842 minutes ago

    Hi Jamie,

    Like the others say go to your doctors and let them be the judge of it. I had bowel cancer at the age of 26 so things aren't always like the book says, you might just need to change your diet you could be straining yourself, could be piles, but let your doctor decide.

    Good luck and tell us what happens when you do go.

    • jamiestraw
      jamiestraw SandraR69

      Posted

      I've heard a lot about piles, the thing that edges me away from piles is that the colour of blood is dark instead of light, although I don't know what bright red blood would look like in the toilet, however I search up symptoms of bowel cancer and each one is pretty much ticked.

      Thanks for the reassurance, you are all right and go to the doctor, it's just I am not scared of death, but scared of cancer, as the thought of my education being jeopardised because of a disease is very daunting

    • SandraR69
      SandraR69 jamiestraw

      Posted

      Well Jamie all I can say is that cancer got me at 26 and I'm 46 now so even if it is cancer which it may not be you can beat it !!

      But the longer you leave it the harder it will be for you.

      Keep your chin up and get to the docs !!!!!

    • dragon21
      dragon21 jamiestraw

      Posted

      As Anthony says an operation won't necessarily mean your out of action for long, also because my cancer was caught early I didn't need any chemo or radiotherapy, another reason people should get checked ASAP.
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