So worried and unsure

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Worriedgirl18
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 4:45 pm

So worried and unsure

Postby Worriedgirl18 » Sun Feb 25, 2018 4:52 pm

Hi all. Sorry to post here i'm just scared and looking for advice. On and off since last May ive had bouts of diarrhea and constipation. I went to the doctor in July last year and they refered me to get it checked but i never made the appointment as it would come and go. But since last November it has been really bothering me. I go through stages. So i could be constipated and not go for a couple of days or im completly fine for three weeks and then ill go to the toilet three or four times in a day and have mild stomach cramps (very mild but noticeable) but what really worries me is i have really noticeable mucus in my stools. Ive always had mucus i think but i notice it a lot more now. Even more recently ive had an urgency to go. And when I say urgent i mean i feel like I need to get to a toilet immediately but when i do get to the toilet its not like its urgent it feels normal or even slightly constipated if that makes sense. Like i have to push. Im just sick of not knowing what is causing this and angry at myself for ignoring it for so bloody long!!Does anybody think this could be something minor even with all of these symptoms? Its so so so rare to have bowel cancer in your 20s isn't it? Or isn't it? I have a flexible sigmoidoscopy on the 8th of March. Nervous but glad to be having it done. I'm 23 years old. Thank you snd please delete if not allowed.

Caat55
Posts: 694
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:01 pm

Re: So worried and unsure

Postby Caat55 » Sun Feb 25, 2018 10:02 pm

You are young, shouldn't be dealing with this uncertainty. It could be so many things besides cancer. See a GI doctor.
Take care,
S
Do at 55 y.o. Female
Dx 9/26/17 RC Stage 3
Completed 33 rad. tx, xeolda 12/8/17
MRI and PET 1/18 sign. regression
Surgery 1/31/18 Ileostomy, clean margins, no lymph node involved
Port 3/1/2018
Oxaliplatin and Xeloda start 3/22/18
Last Oxaliplatin 7/5/18, 5 rounds
CT NED 9/2018
PET NED 12/18
Clear Colonoscopy 2/19, 5/20

Stewsbetty
Posts: 170
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2016 7:08 am

Re: So worried and unsure

Postby Stewsbetty » Sun Feb 25, 2018 11:00 pm

Is there a reason for just doing the sigmoidoscopy? In my opinion if you are doing the prep they might as well scope the whole thing. My tumour was at the juncture of the small and large bowel. A sigmoidoscopy would have seen no problems.
42yo At diagnosis. Female in BC, Canada
Dx: CC ascending
Right Hemi colectomy 06/16 clear margins
Adenocarcinoma 6cm High Grade
pT3 pN2a Stage 3
10 out of 16 lymph involved
MSI-h, Kras mut, Braf wild
Finished chemo Feb. 2017
PET scan showing active area April 2017
July 2017 CT showing LN mass and spread to other LN
Stage 4
Aug 2017 failed Fofiri
Sept 2017 keytruda scans every 3 months showing shrinkage and stability
November 2018 CT shows only 1 small tumour left
September 2019 clear CT finally NED!!!

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O Stoma Mia
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:29 am
Location: On vacation. Off-line for now.

Re: So worried and unsure

Postby O Stoma Mia » Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:39 am

Stewsbetty wrote:Is there a reason for just doing the sigmoidoscopy? In my opinion if you are doing the prep they might as well scope the whole thing. My tumour was at the juncture of the small and large bowel. A sigmoidoscopy would have seen no problems.

I agree with Stewsbetty. You may want to change this to a full colonoscopy on March 8, if this is at all possible. If not, you could ask when, in the future , could you be scheduled for a full colonoscopy. It may turn out that they need to eventually do both if the sigmoidoscopy yields no results.

In my case, the initial scope found a tumor in the rectum, but the doctor didn't look beyond that to inspect the rest of the colon. It turned out that I also had another tumor farther up the line that was missed on the original scope. It would have heen much better if this other tumor had been found during the original procedure instead of later on.

Worriedgirl18
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 4:45 pm

Re: So worried and unsure

Postby Worriedgirl18 » Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:48 am

I completely agree. I feel if I'm having a sigmoidoscopy I may as well just have a colonoscopy but the decision lies with the doctor in charge. I'm trying to be rational and am angry at myself for leaving it so long but with it coming and going I thought oh its nothing. I know its rare at my age but its not unheard of. I feel a lot of it with me is worse with stress. It can play havoc with my bowel movements. I had a blood test for anaemia recently so will ring doctors up today to get the results of that.


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