Hello everyone,
It's so nice to read the many success stories of people with Colon Caner and the positive outlook you all have, you will all be in my prayers.
Now to my story... I've been suffering from blood in my stool for a long, long time... I'm not sure exactly how long, but probably around 4/5 years. The blood seems to last maybe 3-4 weeks and then stops for at least a couple of months... I think I've only seen blood probably once/twice in the last year. Anyway... I have been told by my parents I made a big mistake by spending about 2 weeks reading online and freaking myself out... they said I am probably being irrational worrying so much, but I thought I would ask you guys.
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I suffer mostly from stomach rumbling feelings... It is like my stomach is vibrating as though I am hungry, but I guess it is gas inside my stomach. I rarely suffer from any severe abdominal pain (the odd niggles), although Right now I have a bad pain in my right side. I got kind of scared because I know they liver is on the right side which is where colon cancer can often spread. It's a constant pain and hurts when I bend down or lean to the side. I have not lost any weight or any appetite what so ever.
I am also very tired and when I stand up too quick I get a head rush nearly every time... the doctor took my BP and said this was 'Postural Hypo tension' and very normal... said tiredness is normal for my age... hmm.
Recently my stools have been what I would call thin, not pencil thin and they change a lot... sometimes they will be tiny, sometimes like balls and sometimes they will be approaching normal. Anyway I did actually do have hemroids because I felt them when going to the toilet... I thought maybe the fact I could feel them just inside might mean that they were shaping the stool as it came out. But I wondered if this was a red herring because of the stomach aches / tiredness. What do you guys think?
Anyway, I was always scared of going to the doctor and discussing it until recently I finally went. The doctor pretty much said 'Hemroids' and 'Tiredness' without doing any kinds of checks. I was freaked out because I had been reading about on-line and all my symptoms seem to match... I went back the next day and asked to see another doctor, she pressed about my stomach and said I seemed fine, but would do a blood test for anaemia... I mentioned Colon Cancer and she said pretty much 'At 22 years old it is VERY unlikely, less that 0.1%' and 'If you had symptoms such as rectal bleeding for 5-6 years you would have been dead by now'. That scared me and that's how it was left.
Any advice, I'm really worried
I just don't know what to do... the doctor said 'I am sure the anaemia test will come back fine and you can get on as normal'. But now I am scared that if it comes back normal I am going to be left feeling as scared and worried as I am now... and now I am thinking if I have had rectal bleeding and stomach aches for like 5 years and I let it get this far I am probably in the latest stages... I feel like an idiot, but was so embarrassed and kind of got the feeling I would be shunned off and I apparently am
Trust me, from now on any one I read on-line who does what I did and ignored the symptoms I am going to explain just how much of an idiot I feel
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Extra info:
- I have NO medical conditions
- I kick box semi professionally, training last 3-4 hours a day 5 days a week ( I know this could attribute to tiredness, but it has only started over last 6 months)
- No family history of Cancer at all... In fact I don't think any of my family have died before the age of 80 (parents, Uncles/Aunties, grandparents, Great Grandparents)
- Age: 22, Sex: Male, Country: UK