Does this mean that I don't have colorectal cancer? Does it at least mean that I don't have a late stage? As for my symptoms, they include mild fatigue, occasional blood spot on stool, occasional mucus on the end of the stool, mild to severe abdominal cramping, and bloody diarrhea when I get it (and I haven't in over a week). Most of my symptoms seem to improve greatly with reduced stress levels, especially my abdominal pain. It got so bad that I had to go to the ER, where they did the X-rays and stool sample (both were good, btw), but since I got the results and I've been far less stressed out, my pain has gone down significantly and the amount of diarrhea I've had has been greatly reduced. The blood is more intermittent, but it never shows up as a streak, always a sort of splotch.
Hey, I'm new to this board, and am a bit scared. I know this is more reserved for people who actually have a diagnosis and everything, but I can't wait until Monday to talk to the GI doc. I'm only 19 and have no family history of colon cancer, but please disregard this for now. The first time I noticed anything that might be related to colon cancer was late August '08. That's when I started getting a sense of incomplete defecation. From September to November I had very mild symptoms, such as only going once every other day and straining (I had just gotten to college during this time and my diet did change a bit, as did my lifestyle). Then in December I got some sort of stomach bug, which caused me to have a lot diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. This was temporary, though afterward my bowel habits became a persistent twice a day, typically fully formed. That's when I began to notice blood. It wasn't, and still isn't, a lot, but it is noticeable. This blood isn't in the form of a streak, it's like splotches, sometimes multiple spots on multiple sides of the stool. The blood is never mixed, it's always ON it. I've had three fecal occult tests for three different bowel movements, none of which were positive for blood. Two were in January when I initially noticed blood and the other was a few weeks ago at the ER. Beginning around March I started going once a day again, though if I'm stressed out or if I ate something funky it would be twice. In maybe late March I started getting abdominal cramping, and it got worse fast. It got so bad that I went to the ER to have it evaluated late last month. They did an abdominal X-ray and found no evidence of a bowel obstruction. Obviously, I was relieved, and as my stress levels declined so did my abdominal pain. I was also getting a lot of diarrhea during April as well, often accompanied by the pain, but that also got better when I lowered my stress. The diarrhea was often bloody. My stools are usually hard now, and fairly thick, and even though I defecate a good amount each time, I still feel as though I haven't totally emptied. This feeling really hasn't gotten worse since it began, and it does vary with each BM, but it's still there and concerning. Also, it does feel as though something is moving in there, but I just can't get it out (though I usually have a lot more fecal matter on the TP after I strain to get it out). I've been fatigued lately too, and my appetite hasn't been as good, though I still have one. As I said earlier though, anxiety plays a big role in the pain I get as well as the consistency of the stool. The more stressed I am, the less formed it is. While this sounds like IBS, that wouldn't explain the blood, which is why I'm worried about cancer. But I know colorectal cancer takes many years to develop, and since my symptoms progressed as quickly as they did and responded to stress as well as they did, how likely is it that this is colorectal cancer?
I'm sorry for being so graphic in this post, and I don't want to take any readers away from any posts made by colorectal cancer patients. My father had esophageal cancer, which makes me worried about all sorts of cancers, this one in particular due to my symptoms.
hi...first...having had rectal cancer, i know how much better you feel after telling your "story". also...this board is for all that are concerned...not only those diagnosed.
i am not a doc, but have you been tested for hemmoroids? with the blood on the outside of the stool it could be passing by a hemmoroid.....just a thought.
all i can really say with any certainty is your symptoms are not what i experienced before being diagnosed.
a colonostomy is the way it was confirmed i had rectal cancer. get tested. when the results come back, you will be relived.
peace
all i can really say with any certainty is your symptoms are not what i experienced before being diagnosed.
a colonostomy is the way it was confirmed i had rectal cancer. get tested. when the results come back, you will be relived.
peace
Hey Denise, thanks for responding
Though I never had any sort of diagnosis, I do know what it's like to go through cancer from the outside looking in, since my dad had advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma. I also know the fear of uncertainty that goes with it a lot, and what you did was quell those fears a bit
If you don't mind me asking, what sort of symptoms did you have? And how quickly did they get worse? I hate to be nosy, but hearing a story from someone who actually had it will probably reassure me better than the gastroenterologist did. As I said before, my symptoms went from mildly irritating to excruciating within a 6 month period, though I keep reading about people who waited years to see their Doc.
good morning. i am glad to hear i said something to quell your fears.
i was diagnosed with rectal cancer jan 2007...but knew i had cancer in dec because i had every symptom possible.
i felt fine. then my stool started looking very dark, and very skinny. in the rectal cancer world this is called "ribbons". then i began to bleed...a lot. it was christmas time so i put it off. again, although i was bleeding a lot in the toilet everytime i had a bm, i felt fine. in jan i told my husband i had a problem. after a visit to my family dr performed a fecal exame and found blood in my stool, and a colonostomy, i was diagnosed with rectal cancer on jan 26.
on valentine's day i began oral chemo and radiation. i then had surgery on may 23. the dr performed a "j pouch", meaning he took out my rectum and built a new one out of my large intestine. i came out of the surgery with a temporary iliostomy allowing my new rectum to heal. i then began 6 months of intavenus chemo. i had my iliostomy reversed in feb.2008. the reversal went "bad" and i ended up in the hospital 24 hours later for 5 weeks. after another emergency surgery, i had another iliostomy. then a puctured artery and another surgery. then a punctured colon. i was released and went home with home health care. then another surgery to remove the iliostomy again on aug 2008. it has been about 8 months now and i am doing great. i am working on controlling diarriha....but a very small price to pay!
at this point i am a very happy, Blessed woman. i give thanks everyday. i have come out of this 2 1/2 year battle with several battle scars, but i am a better person for it all. i now vollenteer at the cancer center. because i look well...i bring hope. because i like to joke around, i bring humor. i have learned that dr's fix us, but we heal ourselves.
ask me anything you want. anything i can offer to help...i am here.
keep me posted.
peace
Re: Does this sound like colorectal cancer? 
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