Please help, need some advice, very nervous!

[CG1644]

Hello. I dont even know where to start, this is all so crazy. Please bear with me as I explain the story so you can get a better understanding of what i am dealing with.

My 25 year old son moved to Thailand last year. He has gotten food poisoning a couple of times since being there. But about 2 weeks ago he got very sick, very high fever and diarrhea for several days. He wasnt getting any better so he went to the hospital. They admitted him to run tests. They did an abdominal ct scan with contrast. It showed some wall thickening in his colon which is common with bad bacterial infections. But during this scan they came across a 3.9 x 2.5 cm lesion in his sigmoidcolon. The doctor said it could be a polyp or possibly cancer but he should go for a colonoscopy after he gets better. We kinda blew it off as being a polyp because hes so young and at the time were more concerned with finding out what was going on at that moment. He spent a week in the hospital and finally diagnosed him through stool cultures with salmonella b, a very bad antibiotic resistant strain. He was finally discharged and starting doing better.

A few days later the diarrhea started again and my son got nervous and went back to the hospital to follow up. The stomach doctor that treated him during his hospital stay was not there so he saw another one. This doctor was hardly concerned about his current condition and said he thinks he developed a form of IBS from the salmonella. He then proceeded to tell him that he has to get the colonoscopy asap and more often than not the lesion he has is cancer. Told my son he should come home and do the testing here where he has a support system. Anyway, he scared the living hell out of my son!! He has now booked a flight home an hes a complete wreck. he has an anxiety disorder so this was not very good for his mental state.

My question to anyone who might know, isnt it possible it was inflammation from the salmonella?? an abdominal ct scan doesnt seem to be the best way to diagnore colon cancer right? He is only 25 and never had any problems whatsever with his bowels so i am so confused and scared. Is there a possibility the Ct scan saw something other than cancer?

This is what the report said.

There is an irregular shaped enhancing lesion in the rectosigmoid colon measuring about 3.9 x 2.4 cm It locates at about 9 cm from the anal verge.
No serosal fat reticulation is seen.
The visualized small bowel loops are not remarkable.
Multiple enlargement lymph nodes with normal shapes are seen at right paracolic and mesenteric stations, suggestive of reactive process.
No ascites is detected. T
he included liver, gall bladder,kidneys, spleen, urinary bladder and prostate gland are unreamrkable.

Any opinions or advice would be so appreciated as I am a complete wreck over this!! Thanks so much!

[Jannine]

We are not doctors and can't say for sure what it might be. He should definitely get a colonoscopy ASAP to find out what it is, and move forward from there. It is the only way to find out what is going on in the colon. That will likely get you a lot more information, and from that, you will move on to learning what his options are. Right now you don't know enough to even guess. You can't do anything about something you don't understand (yet), so do what you can to avoid stressing out about it too much. When you know more, you will be able to act.

Good luck to you both, and feel free to ask questions when you know more. Not knowing is the worst part, because you have no idea what to prepare for and can't do anything. We have all been there.

[KimT]

I was living in Thailand when I was diagnosed. Colon cancer is quite rare in the Asian population and they really don’t know how to deal with it. Especially if he is seeing a doctor outside of the private hospitals that are frequented by expats. Bumrungrad in Bangkok is state of the art, as well as the Bangkok hospitals situated in the major cities....Phuket, Bangkok, Chang Mai, and pattaya. The naval hospital in sattahip is excellent and much cheaper than the others.

That said, we aren’t doctors and can’t speculate on your son’s situation. From personal experience with the Thai medical system, if they are sending your son home, they have good reason to believe it is cancer as they just don’t deal much with cancers of the colon.

[CG1644]

Thank you so much! He was treated at Bangkok Hospital in Chang Mai. They treated him very well and the facility was beautiful. I know i should not be jumping to conclusions before knowing all the facts but I am just so nervous. I know for sure the doctor should not have scared him like that though. There are better ways to say things, especially to a young 25 year old with anxiety.

I will keep you all posted, thanks for being here and for this forum, Its a great place for support and comfort.

[LPL]

CG1644, I agree with what other members have said - no one can know for sure until a colonoscopy & biopsi is done. I am so sorry you and your son has to deal with this unknown. Good that he is coming home to his family that can support. This waiting for tests and results is hard! I am hoping it is something benign and I’m sending best wishes for a good outcome. Please know that we are here if you have questions.

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm sorry your son is going through this!*hugs* Only a colonoscopy will tell your son what's going on. I hope his prep and colonoscopy go well!*hugs*

[CG1644]

Thanks so much!!

[KimT]

Thank you so much! He was treated at Bangkok Hospital in Chang Mai. They treated him very well and the facility was beautiful. I know i should not be jumping to conclusions before knowing all the facts but I am just so nervous. I know for sure the doctor should not have scared him like that though. There are better ways to say things, especially to a young 25 year old with anxiety.

I will keep you all posted, thanks for being here and for this forum, Its a great place for support and comfort.

Many things are lost in translation. The Thai language is completely different from English. While the doctors in the private hospitals speak English, they don’t speak it well. I doubt the doctor was being unkind, they translate quite literally and it comes out very blunt. Politeness is the rule in Thailand. They just don’t know that the way they say things isn’t always polite.

[CG1644]

Yes it was quite blunt. Scared the hell out of him for sure!