poppyseed

I have been having some symptoms that have begun to concern me, and I'm not entirely sure what I should do. I've had occasional rectal pain for about a year now, but it is dull and lasts no longer than a couple of seconds. It occurs maybe once every other month, usually either when I am ovulating or menstruating.

I very rarely have a small amount of blood on the toilet paper after passing a rather hard stool. I can almost feel the stool tear my skin slightly. It is very infrequent, maybe once a year, if that, so that is not too much of a concern for me.

6 months or so ago I began having thinner than normal stools. It didn't come all of a sudden, but I remember noticing it around that time. Currently, it is not uncommon for me to have thin or unformed stool (not runny, just not solid), however I do have "normal" bowel movements, also. I would say about 2/3 of the time it is thin/unformed and 1/3 normal. I eat more fiber than most people and I drink a ton of water (probably average about 2 liter per day). I have also been under an incredible amount of stress recently, so I have just attributed these symptoms to those things.

But..... then I recently read something about colorectal cancer and began to freak out. This is rather embarrassing, but I felt up into my rectum with my finger and noticed a small elevation near my internal anal sphincter. It was not hard, and it did not hurt. However, it was only on one side, so I am pretty sure that it was not normal. It was maybe a centimeter in diameter, but I am really bad at guessing length.

I thought that it might be hemorrhoids, but everything that I have read on those said that it was in the lower portion of the rectum and generally hurt. I am really scared that i have rectal cancer, and I want to get it checked out by my doctor. However, I have been away university for a couple of weeks now, and it is a 12 hour drive home where my doctor is. I am not sure if I will be able to make it there until Christmas. Do you think I should just wait it out until then? Or go to an Urgent Care office here?

Do you know of anything else that it could be?

Some other information: I am 23 years old and I have no parents or aunts/uncles with colorectal cancer, possibly a grandparent but I'm not sure what age he had it (if he even had it).

I am really, REALLY worried, and I don't know what to do. I know that it is rare for someone my age to have rectal cancer, but not impossible. Any help would be very much appreciated!