My brother who is 30yrs old has had alot of bright red bleeding with his bowel movements for a week(in the stool and in the toilet) and half now - he has already been to the gastroenterologist and is scheduled for a colonoscopy next Monday morning. He does have a history of external hemmoroids since he was younger but there are no visual ones now. Our mother was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer in May of 2002 - did chemo and is in remission now. He is completely freaking out and driving himself crazy with the worst case scenarios. From reading many of the posts here it's amazing how colon cancer is affecting people younger and younger these days. Any words of advice or encouragement I could pass along to my brother? Thanks so much.
Debbie

Debbie:

Your brother is ABSOLUTELY doing the right thing having a colonoscopy. The waiting can be excrutiating... is there any way he can speak with his general practitioner and explain the predicament... say he's going crazy thinking about this and see if he/she can prescribe some Klonopin until next week? Just to relax him a little. I think it would benefit him.

Also, as far as cancer and his age versus his mom's... I am 32, started bleeding at 28 and was told all was fine by GP. Grandfather was dx with colorectal cancer in his late 40's. The off and on bleeding got worse and worse and I began passing mucoid clots, and increased stool frequency. Well I self referred to a Gastroenterologist at 31 and was diagnosed with Stage 3C Rectal Cancer. It has been a LONG, DIFFICULT road, for me, my wife, my kids, and is still not over. I'm sure you understand from your mom. In any event, it's very stressful, and I would think that a GP would Rx him something to help especially given that his mom just went through this a year ago... say he's having a hard time with this because it's too close to home with your Mom's dx and treatment. :)

Best of Luck.
CancerDad :angel:

Hi Deb401
Sorry to hear of your brother's worry. Hopefully he will get through his coloonoscopy ok.

My husband (44y/old) was diag with stage 4 only 6 weeks after my mum was diag with stage 4. This really scared everybody once we told them about the diagnosis but of no-one knew about the fact that we were worrying about it for weeks before it was confirmed. Added to that, my DH tried to play down how he must really have been feeling just so he didnt add to my burden or run the risk of his mum-in-law finding out about it whilst she was still in hospital recouperating from surgery. They went to same hospitals !!

Looking back now, I know that my husband coped because he broke things down into chunks of time which were relative to him and not based on what had happened to anybody else with the same desease. He did not compare notes with my mum. He was well prepared for each meeting with the docs and if the docs were talking about surgery and chemo and radioT then he reminded them that all he needed to know was how to cope with one treatment at a time and how husband could help them help him to recovery.

Not sure if any of the above made sense but hope it helps.

good luck
ktee

It's possible that your brother may have severe colitis or some other colon/bowel condition that is not cancerous. My niece is 20 and has had similiar symptoms as your brother. She does need surgery and has to use steroid meds but so far no cancer.

CancerDad's recommendation of your brother's doctor prescribing something for his anxiety is not a bad idea.

Good luck in the coming days. Take care.

Could be an internal hemmeroid as well. I would recommend that you and your brother get colonoscopies in the future depending on the age your mother was diagnosed. I believe the guideline is to start a screening colonoscopy at age 40 years or 10 years younger than the earliest diagnosis in your family and repeated every 5 years. My grandmother had colon cancer and my mother had a history of polyps. I will have to undergo pretty frequent screening once I come of age. Good luck to your brother and you! :)