hi there,

this is the first time i am posting on this forum, but i have been following for the past 2 months. i just turned 20 years old (young indeed). about 2 months ago i started coughing like crazy, i thought it was a cold, but later found out it was asthma episodes. i knew i had sports asthma as well as cold induced asthma, but these crazy coughing outbursts came out of nowhere. around the same time the episodes started, i began finding blood in my stool. a very noticeable amount and almost every time i had a bm. i would also find significant amounts of mucus on the stool as well. i went to my doctors right away and he didnt seem to be too concerned, he suggested hemroids and gave me some suppositoiries. those didnt work, i later began to feel lower back pain on a regular basis. i have noticed that i have lost a little weight. my bm's do not include diarhea. i have only experienced diarhea once or twice in the 2 month span. but my bm's seem weird, i dont really feel constipated, but i do at the same time....i know really weird...i have not experieced any abdominal pain yet, but maybe just a little discomfort every now and then. so i went back to the doctors and he did a rectal exam...which wasnt the best feeling in the world. he said he saw no internal hemroids, but he said the walls of the colon seemed to be inflammed and said he saw what he thought to be a little ' colitis'....he said i shouldn't worry and he was going to send me to see a local specialist and said it would take up to 8 weeks, usually depending on the urgency. so i went home thinking i would be getting checked out by a specialist in a few months. 1 day later, the specialists office called and told me i had an appointment 5 days later for a colonoscopy, saying that my doctor says it was urgent...now what am i supposed to think after i get that phone call. sure im happy to get checked so soon but now i get to stress for 5 days thinking i may have something serious such as colon cancer. i have a colonoscopy scheduled for wednesday morning. i have talked for way too long and have told you my life story, but i would just appreciate it if someone would give me some specific symptomes of this disease, or if anyone has any other suggestions of what this could be. i dont have any family history of colon cancer, i am only 20 years old, but i just have the weirdest feeling that i have something serious going on in my body. replys would be greatly appreciated. god bless

usually when you assume the worst.....it is never as bad as you thought. i hope this is the case with you.....let us know how things go.

Kyle, good for you. You have a good doctor who is showing that he/she is concerned. Most likely you have nothing serious, but your doctor is doing the right thing with the colonoscopy. Many doctors have the mindset that colon cancer only happens to people over 50. It seems that quite a few younger people don't get diagnosed until they are stage 3 or 4, because their doctor has dismissed their symptoms. Of course you will have sleepless nights until you have the colonoscopy and get the results. Try to keep your life as close to normal as possible-maybe treat yourself to something special. If friends want to help, take them up on the offer. They really want to be there for you, and it is not a sign of weakness accepting their help Best wishes to you. Keep us informed.

Hey Kyle,

Welcome to the board. I just started posting here too. I am not trying to stress you out even more. Someone that posted to me before, told me that stressing about anything isn't going to change the outcome, which is true, and stress relieves toxins to your body, so it isn't helping your immune system either. This is coming from someone that is extremely paranoid and stresses about EVERYTHING. But I am trying to get better.

I noticed blood in my stool off and on in December, I wondered if it was something I ate, is that a tomatoe or strawberry? Plus, I've had colonscopies before, I had my first one at 18, my mother passed away from colon cancer 8 years ago. I was recently diagnosed, with colon cancer, I am 29, just turned last Friday, the 17th.

Anywho, when you say you're not constipated but feel like it, maybe this will help, is it like you feel that you're still full even after you have a bm? I felt like that, occassionally my stools were long and thin, and I have chronic diahhrea and constipation off an on, sometimes I felt compacted and it was uncomfortable to sit down.

I know the waiting sucks, trust me, I've been there, they found out that I was anemic at the beginning of Feb and I had to wait 3 weeks to get a colonscopy for some real answers.

All I can tell you is make sure you tell your doctor all your symptoms, don't stress, WAY easier said than done, keep an eye on your bowel habits, make them do some blood work, CBC, come chemistry panels too to see how your kidneys and liver are functioning. I had some back pain, mid to lower, but I found out I have a kidney stone too. Don't hesitate to get a second opinion, get very familiar with your health insurance and how it operates. As CancerDad told me, knowledge is definitely your friend.

Again, don't hesitate to go to another doctor if you're not happy with the one you have, people get second opinions on car insurance, etc., but randomly do when it comes to doctors.

Increase your fiber intake and decrease your fat, eat lots of leafy green veggies and legumes to help with antioxidants that fight against free radicals and boast your immune system, but increase your fiber, it's good for a healthly digestive system, even if this is a spastic colon, which I was diagnosed with when I was your age.

Do keep us posted, and I am praying everything goes well in your favor, remember, stressing over it isn't going to change anything, I hope you find solace knowing that others have been in the same situation you are in, and come out with positive results on their colonscopy.

Good luck dear,

Christy in MD :wave:

hi kyle

i've recently experienced the same symptoms (blood on toilet paper, low back pain, plus thin stools) and i have my doctor's appointment scheduled for next week. i did almost all the research i can online and i can tell you that its really rare for someone our age (i'm 24) to get colon cancer. it can happen, and it most definitely does, but there are many other reasons for these symptoms. please keep us posted.

tom

thanks for the replys everyone.... i can honestly say i feel a lot better. as for tom's post, i appolagize because i just finished reading your thread and replying. i didnt get the chance to notice that you replied to mine. haha, we gave eachother the same advice.

hey kyle

just remembered your colonoscopy was today. i hope everything came out fine and be sure to keep us updated.

tom

hey tom,

nope my colonoscopy was advanced a day for some reason...so today was the day i had to clean out my system.....grosssssssss, but anywho, 9 hours to go, i'll keep everyone posted.

kyle