Talk Cancer

Question:

From what I was told by physician friend of mine: 1. Only 1/3 of colon cancers bleed. So bleeding indication is a good sign. 2. Any bleeding should be immediately investigate to rule out cancer and determine the cause of bleeding. What do you gain by waiting? Just run and get a colonoscopy done. At least if the results are negative, you will have great peace of mind. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi, I am a 52 yo female who has painless rectal bleeding (enough to color the toilet bowl) a couple of times a month, no "normal" bowel movements any more, mostly loose watery

Response:

Greetings Toni, Get your butt into a clinic pronto.  Sorry for the vigorous push.  My colon cancer (level 3 or Dukes’ C-2) was first evidenced by a bowel obstruction that had started to give me some pain.  No diarrhea, no occult blood, no tiredness, no fatigue, and no weight loss.  IOW, the tumor was damned silent (possibly for a couple of years) until it got big enough to pose a physical obstruction.  All, I repeat, all polyps are considered to be capable of turning from non-malignant to malignant.  If you have a family history of polyps and colon cancer, as you say, you should have this test performed every three years.  The sad thing is that most people don’t realize that if polyps are found, they are pulled and no cancer can develop.  In other words, colonoscopies every three years can completely prevent colon cancer.  If you have fears about colonoscopy, don’t.  They sedate you and anesthetize you.  I woke up in the post procedural room without feeling a thing. If you’re lucky, the bleeding is just diverticulitis or some form of colitis.  In the mean time it is critical to have this procedure done.  I was only 43 when diagnosed.  My sister, age 36, was found to have two polyps which were removed without any further treatment necessary. If you need more info…..I have quite a bit of knowledge and experience with this type of cancer. Good luck, Mark J. Koebbe – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I am a 52 yo female who has painless rectal bleeding (enough to color the toilet bowl) a couple of times a month, no "normal" bowel movements any more, mostly loose watery stools, and extreme tiredness and fatigue.  I went to the doctor because of the tiredness and he found I was anemic which he could not explain.  He wants me to have a colonoscopy and I probably will, but don’t you lose weight or something with colon cancer? My family hx is of my father having colon polyps that were not malignant and a first- cousin with colon cancer in his mid 50’s. I appreciate any help you can offer about signs and symptoms of early colon cancer. Thanks, Toni

Response:

Hi, Just hoping you take the time to get the bleeding checked out.   The colonoscopy is a simple, painless procedure.   The worst you will suffer will be a nice nap after it is all over. Get it checked out, ASAP. Ron

Response:

something wrong there, though. *Very* good that your doc wants you to have the full colonoscopy, not just a sigmoidoscopy. That way they can make sure that you’re OK all the way up. It’s also my understanding that your risk of colon cancer increases if you have someone in your immediate family who has had it (but you say your father’s polyps were not malignant).

I just finished an executive physical. Part of the procedure was a flex sigmoidoscopy and a polyp was discovered. The doctor scheduled me for a full colonscopy to both check the entire colon and remove the polyp. He said from the looks of it, the polyp probably was not cancerous, but he said it should be removed nonetheless. Needless to say, it has been tough to deal with my feelings these past few days, and I appreciate a newsgroup like this where I can find out more about the whole thing. And I’m glad I went though the procedure now. I sure would be a lot more worried if I had waited. Just thought I’d put my two cents in to urge you to get the procedure done as soon as you can. Jim

Response:

Toni, my husband went to the dr because he wasn’t feeling ‘well’.  Diarrhea for couple weeks but no weight loss.  No obvious bleeding.  She thought it was diverticulitis till the blood work came back showing he was anemic. Then, a day after that he started, too, ‘coloring’ the bowl with blood.  He also developed a slight discomfort in his side.  After colonoscopy, he had a section of colon removed, diagnosed as cancer, Stage I.  He’s in good shape, three weeks later.  No chemo no radiation.  Excellent prognosis. So, sounds like yours, but could be Crohns, could be diveticulitis, ulcerative colitis.  There is a familial influence although there is none in my husband’s family. Go to the doctor.  Do what he tells you to do so you can stop worrying. Good luck with whatever it is. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I am a 52 yo female who has painless rectal bleeding (enough to color the toilet bowl) a couple of times a month, no "normal" bowel movements any more, mostly loose watery stools, and extreme tiredness and fatigue.  I went to the doctor because of the tiredness and he found I was anemic which he could not explain.  He wants me to have a colonoscopy and I probably will, but don’t you lose weight or something with colon cancer? My family hx is of my father having colon polyps that were not malignant and a first- cousin with colon cancer in his mid 50’s. I appreciate any help you can offer about signs and symptoms of early colon cancer. Thanks, Toni

Response:

I’m not a doctor, but I have a friend who now has colon cancer (diagnosed in July), having had colitis for 15 years (probably a significant reason). He had no symptoms before they found it – in fact, he only went to see the doctors because he felt a lump in his abdomen – which turned out to be a roughly two-inch-round tumor. I don’t think he’d lost weight up to the point where that started bothering him, though. I suppose if it were sufficiently advanced before it was detected, it would. It is my understanding that colon cancer can be asymptomatic – I don’t have any statistics offhand for what the percentages are on that. But that bleeding you DEFINITELY need to get checked out. Could be hemorrhoids (but certainly doesn’t sound like it – speaking through my layman’s hat), could be polyps or something, could be colitis (does crohn’s bleed as well?), could be something worse. The anemia is, I would guess, due to the bleeding – there’s obviously something wrong there, though. *Very* good that your doc wants you to have the full colonoscopy, not just a sigmoidoscopy. That way they can make sure that you’re OK all the way up. It’s also my understanding that your risk of colon cancer increases if you have someone in your immediate family who has had it (but you say your father’s polyps were not malignant). Anyway, that’s my unscientific take on all this, mostly from what I know of my friend and a couple of listservs to which I’ve been subscribed since he was diagnosed, from which I’ve learned a lot. I hope that whatever is causing this is NOT cancer, and I’m sorry that I can’t provide you anything more definite in terms of X is or isn’t a sign. Will keep my fingers crossed for you that the scope provides an answer, and that it’s something more minor than major. Cathleen

Response:

Hi, I am a 52 yo female who has painless rectal bleeding (enough to color the toilet bowl) a couple of times a month, no "normal" bowel movements any more, mostly loose watery stools, and extreme tiredness and fatigue.  I went to the doctor because of the tiredness and he found I was anemic which he could not explain.  He wants me to have a colonoscopy and I probably will, but don’t you lose weight or something with colon cancer? My family hx is of my father having colon polyps that were not malignant and a first- cousin with colon cancer in his mid 50’s. I appreciate any help you can offer about signs and symptoms of early colon cancer. Thanks, Toni

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