Postby Magnolia » Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:24 pm
Most, but not all, colon cancers occur in the lower portion of the colon, which would be reached with a sigmoidoscope, and bleeding from higher up would not be likely to show up as bright red. Chances are all really is well. Sigmoidoscopy is falling out of favor, though, because it doesn't show the whole picture. If you're still worried, persue it. Ask more questions at the very least. To be honest, if the fissure heals, the bleeding stops, the sigmoscopy was clear, if it was me, (and I didn't already have a history of cancer) I might be happy with that. I'd jump on it if the symptoms came back though, or if any new symptoms developed. Keep up a dialogue with your doc. If anything doesn't feel right, stay on it. I had a Stage III cancer that was causing no symptoms at all. If I had not had a screening colonoscopy I wouldn't have known I had it. The stuff can be sneaky.
That said, bright red bleeding usually comes from the lower tract, and the sigmoidoscope would be likely to find the source. That much is reassuring. The only advantage of a colonoscopy would be to find an occult problem higher up that wasn't acting up yet. There's no real reason to believe you have anything there, except that some of us did. You found the source of your bleeding, and if you have no other symptoms, watchful waiting and careful monitoring may be an option. Forgetting about it is not. Colonoscopy would give you a clear answer. Keep talking to your doc.