The Colon Club

I am really hoping that someone can help me with my symptoms. I feel desperate.

Im a 35 year old female and I have a lump in my lower left abdomen (next to my hip) that is the size of a grape sometimes- other times it feels like a small sausage. It never is completely gone but it is very hard sometimes and squishy others. My left side is higher than my right when I lie on my back. I am always short of breath and feel like im constipated. This lump has been there since July of 2000 (possibly longer). I had a doc tell me before that it was a lymph node and others say it is a ball of fat or "possibly my colon." It has bothered me EVERYDAY for the past 8 years. I feel weak and tired and my stools are sticky (but not black). I haven't seen any visible blood.

For whatever reason, they gave me an Upper Endoscopy. I didn't even think about CC at the time. My problem NOW is that I have No insurance anymore. Now that Ive read stories on young people with CC I am freaked out because its been here so long, and because of this I'm thinking something would've happened by now (like visible blood?).

As soon as I get insurance (which I am working on) I will suggest a colonoscopy. Until then, can anyone tell me what this could be??????? and if CC presents with a lump for this length of time?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks for the reply.

That is what I thought too, but after reading some of the colondar model's stories, I've learned some have had symptoms for many years. I'm hoping it's nothing, but gosh, i don't feel very good!

I hope and pray for all of you for a cure soon!

I left you a reply on the other site you had also posted this as a question.

Please do not think that if this is cancer you would be dead now after 8 years. Colorectal cancer grows slowly and is generally not as aggressive as other cancers, so YES, you can have colorectal cancer in you for many years and still be alive. You will find that most of us here were advised that we probably had the polyps/tumors for many many years before they were discovered!
Jaynee

I can relate to your situation pretty much except , I did seen blood with very thin stools and sometime very dense stools, I have been thru this for over 10 year, yes I am well educated and know the risk of late dx etc etc, But I was really scared of BIOPSY, I knew if I get a scope and if they find a cancer, a BIOPSY will be performed and I can tell you one thing for fact, if they do a biopsy of cancerous polyp, cancer will spread in days. Anyway, Finally the blood was flowing like I am urinating, with every bm, and I ended up in ER Dec 05. A CT scan showed nothing and other test came back negative, for some reason, my blood counts were normal as well. I was back in routine again, Finally in jan 07, I got scoped and Dx with stage 1 CC( and Bad bout of Hemorrhoids as well) . Luckily, I am Cancer Free as of today
I am not saying that you SHOULD NO GO TO DOCTOR , BUT remember one thing, colon cancer before the age of 40 is still VERY VERY RARE, If you saw some people here DX with this dreadful disease at younger age, Historically speaking, the chances of getting CC before 40 are still 1/1000 (over all).
I also can tell you one thing, You can have 200 symptoms of colon cancer and you don't have it and vice versa. According to my cousin, who is a colorectral surgeon in canada, He once told me there are over 200 types of colon/rectal diseases which are not life threating.
Said all that, go to ER if you have a insurance problem. They will not deny treatment.

hi im eric, im a filipino, i had been searching for answers to the internet about this lymph node in my lower left abdomen and i think i found the write forum. well i think i started to have some kind of just mass of lymph in 2005 or 2006 and i thought first that its because of my drinking. i thought it was some kind of liver or kidney problem. then every month it just start to become more visible. they became 2 right now they are just behind my belly button. and sometime after i drink the day after that my nodes kinda hurt when i press it. then sometime they would not hurt. im already worried about it because it maybe a colon cancer. i take a dump regularly. but sometime i skip it. and i think another lymph is beginning to create because everytime i look at the mirror with dim lights i can easily see the bumps. and i remember i once go to this public hospital and the doctor want to examine it but it was so bright in that room that the doctor cant even see it. then she told me that i should get a x-ray but sadly i dont have money so i just forget it. and i just did limit my drinking. so my question is what all of you think of it? sorry for my english. thanks and god bless..

As soon as you can, don't suggest, INSIST on a colonoscopy to put your mind at ease.

It is the ONLY way to truly know what is happening in your colon.

jA

There is a lot of poorly documented information flowing on this thread:

1) You can have colon cancer for YEARS and not be diagnosed. Just because something is a hernia, doesn't mean there isn't something else going on, and you should get it checked out.

2) Biopsies do not necessarily cause cancer to spread in "days." Where are you getting that information?

3) Enlarged lymph nodes can be a sign of all sorts of things. Cancer is on the list, but not just colon cancer. If you are having symptoms which concern you, do not let a doctor tell you it's probably nothing. Make them go on a hunt to rule out some of the things it COULD be. Just because it's probably nothing doesn't mean it's definitely nothing.

Hi,

I'm a 29 year old women and have been experiencing the same thing as you described,for about the last two years. My lower left abdomen has a raised lump, like a sausage about 3-4 inches long. Sometimes it feels shorter, softer or harder, but I know it wasn't like that before. My bowel moment is every day, but is mostly like rabbit's droppings. I get very bad stomach cramps on a weekly basis and is usually followed by bowel movement. The pain is so bad it sometimes makes me squat to the floor in agony, it only lasts about 25 seconds.
My doctor felt the lump and said its probably just my intestine that I'm feeling and gave me ibs (irritable bowel sydrome) tablets for the stomach cramps.
The tablets do help with the cramps, but the lumps still there?
Any ideas on what this is.
I hope you better now, or at least have peace of mind.

Why you just dont have colonoscopy, I just had one at age 28 with no symptoms at all, and it was piece of cake. I didn't feel a thing.

HI guest!
It almost sounds like you have an inguinal hernia that may becoming incarcerated-a hernia is a weakening in the peritoneal wall of the abdomen and sometimes colon can squeeze through that "defect" or "hole".You were saying the size changes from a grape-sausage-well, your colon may be pushing out more one day than another! You were saying it is soft then hard sometimes which can indicate stool getting lodged into that hole. Hernias can be painful at times, but often subsides. It can also be a lypoma (which is a benign (non cancerous) fatty tumor.
Do you have a job that requires heavy lifting? Have you had previous abdominal surgery?
Not sure about the SOB-constipation is common in Americans!
The first sx of colon cancer in 1. NOTHING AT ALL! you could also have 2.bleeding in stool 3. an urge to deficate, but no results 4. skinny soft stool AND in later stages- abdominal pain/cramping, weakness, decrease in appetite or complete obstruction
If you have had this problem for 8 years, like others were saying-you would probably by now be having chemo treatment (if you know what I mean!) -
also, cancer is hard to the touch, nobby and sticks to whatever it grows on and usually gets larger as the years progress.

I hope this helps you, but PLEASE PLEASE know that I am not a medical doctor, and I cannot diagnose-I am an RN and i work in the operating room-I see a lot of cancer
catherine

Hi guests I just realized you guys sent this 2 years ago! oops ! well hope you see it anyway

Guest,
I suggest a colonoscopy too.
I had no blood in my stools and the colonoscopy was the way my cancer was found.
I hope that all goes well for you.
Candy

I wrote this a few years ago and I just now noticed the new responses.

Yes, I am STILL going through the same symptoms everyday except now I'm slowly gaining weight. Also I feel more short of breath. I went to the doc twice since I wrote this (no insurance) and had a CT scan of my abdomen which showed hydroureter. I told the doc my worries about CC and he said not after I've had symptoms this long. He felt the lump and said he didn't know what it was.

Like you describe I had a feeling of a sausage, small cucumber like lump on my right lower side. I mostly felt it when I was standing. I had previously had a right hemi colectomy due to CC and thought this lump might be the position of the remainder of my colon or maybe even stool passing through the remainder of my colon. In that area it did not really hurt but felt achy. A few of my doctors had no idea what it was until I went back to my Surgical Oncologist and he diagnosed it as a very rare Spigelian Hernia. The hernia itself is very hard to diagnose and sometimes is not found until it presents symptoms. The following is taken from an article:

There are a few symptoms that may indicate the presence of a spigelian hernia. Recurring pain in the immediate area, following by a period of constant dull pain is a common indicator. A sudden decrease in the proper function of the bowels, especially one that lasts for more than a day or two, is also a strong sign. While the protrusion may be very small, it may be visible in people with relatively little fat in the abdominal area and will tend to be soft to the touch.

It is important to note that a hernia of this type can cause a great deal of damage if left untreated. The spigelian hernia may develop in a location where the bowels are in effect strangulated, or cause some type of obstruction in the colon. Both these situations can lead to the deterioration of both organs and eventually cause complete failure.

OMG, I cant believe after 10 yrs of symptoms you didnt have colonoscopy yet.