Hello everyone. I just wanted to share my story and what's going on with me especially after a very sobering phone call with my doctor tonight.
About 3 years ago I noticed some blood on the toilet paper when I would use the restroom, not a lot, not enough to really freak me out but it was noticeable. After it didn't go away for awhile I went to a walk-in clinic and the doctor examined me with their fingers and I was diagnosed with hemorrhoids. So I accepted it, used a donut pillow seat and went on with life, with intermittent blood on my toilet paper (every couple months, not sure) that I associated with hemorrhoids.
Fast forward to about a month ago, the blood is more noticeable. I get a little freaked out this time and call my primary doctor, but he's out of town so I see another doctor in the practice. He examines me, sends off an occult blood test and also says I probably have hemorrhoids and that it's likely not "something catastrophic" (why that wording?) due to the odds with my age and such. The results come back positive for blood of course, he said they probably would, but not to worry.
Two weeks later, it's not any better and I go in to see my primary doctor again and this time I get to see him. He examines me and says he can feel the hemorrhoids but that he wants me to see a specialist. The place he refers me to calls me the next day (Tuesday morning) and says they can get me in for a colonoscopy later that week on Friday - I take that opening because I want to get it over with.
The doctor finds and removes 2 benign appearing polyps during my procedure - one less than 5MM in my ascending colon, and one between 10-15MM in my sigmoid colon that was oozing blood and the likely source of my intermittent bleeding.
So it's been a little over 2 weeks since my procedure and my doctor called me tonight as I was coming home from work. He said it's taken them a little longer than normal for them to get the results and for him to contact me because he wanted as much information as possible. He said the smaller polyp was "normal" and what he'd expect from a regular benign polyp. The larger one near my rectum however was precancerous and was at the "highest level" precancerous it could be (something to that effect).
Needless to say, I am kind of shook up but grateful that I had the colonoscopy done. I just hope that for now, I don't have to worry anymore (that he got it all - he said they were completely removed) as long as I keep up with the screenings. He wants me to have another colonoscopy within a year and is having genetic tests done on my biopsy to test for mutations that can give us a clue as to the propensity for it in the future.
I wish I could tell everyone in my age group to get checked early.
Thanks for your time.