Scared of colon cancer
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi everyone,
I'm a 19 year old female student and I'm terrified at the prospect of bowel cancer. Just over 6 months ago I started having bad abdominal pains followed by watery diarrhea. Over the next day or so this turned bloody and I went to ER, where they gave me antibiotics and told me it was probably bacterial gastroenteritis. My inflammation markers were high and my iron levels were low (I wasn't anemic, just low in iron).
The antibiotics seemed to clear things up, and any blood that was visible went away after 5 days or so, along with the stomach cramping. Blood tests afterwards showed my inflammation markers were normal, along with normal thyroid levels but still lowered iron (concerned about this because I know this is a symptom of bowel cancer). A month or so later I had a very itchy rectum and what seemed to be the early signs of an anal abscess, again I was prescribed antibiotics and it left.
Fast forward to now (6 months later) I don't have any visible blood, but on a couple of occasions I have noticed foul smelling mucus in an otherwise normal looking stool. I have regular patterns of how often and when I have a bowel movement. Sometimes my stools seem pretty loose but I wouldn't call it diarrhea., but generally my stools tend to vary over the course of weeks.
I visited a gastroenterologist to follow up the anal itching and the scary symptoms which lasted 5 days, and he said I'm far too young for it to be colorectal cancer and didn't even suggest it as an idea. He said if anything its a 50/50 it might be crohns disease or a really bad infection that didn't get picked up in any stool samples.
I get super scared when I have diarrhea or any mucus as I'm scared it might be cancer. I have terrible anxiety which I'm taking medication for. So I'm wondering, does this sound like colon cancer at all?
0 likes, 5 replies
GhostMan240 anna09842
Posted
H Anna,
Colon cancer is a very serious thing and definitely can happen to people your age. I was 21 when they did a colonoscopy on me and found a cancerous polyp. Everytime I go to the doctor's now they all remark at how lucky i was to have caught that. It wasn't entirely luck though. I knew my symptoms were abnormal (blood in stool, unnatural shapes) and took action and thank god I did or I would be looking at chemo in a few years. If you are worried that you may have colon cancer DEMAND A COLONOSCOPY and don't take no for an answer. Espevially if your family is has a history of cancer like mine did! Good luck and we are here for you
anna09842 GhostMan240
Posted
Hi,
thanks for replying! Did your symptoms come and go at all? I feel like im generally normal, just with the occassional loose stools and mucus.
Did my symptoms sound like yours?
michelle88930 anna09842
Posted
Prolonged use of antibiotics can definitely cause diarrhea or loose stools. Even stress can cause loose stools. I'm not going to say you are too young for colon cancer but it is highly unlikely. Try to calm down and not worry about it too much- you are doing the right thing by seeing a doctor.
martin.martin13 anna09842
Posted
I know that this might sound as a cliché, but there is a very little chance of you having bowel cancer in 19. There are many conditions that can even exist concurrently and can cause these symptoms. Mucus in stool is not abnormal and it is difficult to define what amount is an indication of unhealthy bowel movement. Anal itching is very common even with a mild case of inner haemorrhoids . There are some symptoms that are indicating some functional colon disease/aftermath of an infection and may not be directly attributed to the colon cancer. I do not know your weight/nutrition habits but iron deficiency anemia is very commmon amongst young girls. It is due to menstrual menstrual bleeding and iron-poor diet. Moreover, the inflammation markers pretty much confirmed that it was bacterial infection that subsided. The symptoms listed might be an aftermath of this condition and spastic behaviour of the colon. However, it is difficult to determine the cause without the proper exnamination. This one might not be necessary as you should change your diet first 😉
martin.martin13 anna09842
Posted
Yes, there is this thing that you cannot be always 100% sure, BUT this sounds like a mixture of occasional symptoms of other inflammatory conditions/functional disorders. Keep in mind that cancer in your age is an ENORMOUS RARITY, whereas other gastro-intestinal issues are VERY COMMON even amongst young people. It is good that you follow up on these issues, because you should be concerned about your quality of life in the first place. However you should also keep your anxiety in check. 😉 Good luck!