Bowel cancer / intestinal cancer

Hey my names carrie,

I am 17 years old and i was just wondering if i could get some advice i have been really worried recently about bowel cancer.

I have noticed that my stool was a dark brown the other week but thought that was normal. However i have been drinking a load of them cheap 50p energy drinks with dye in them which i thought is the reason why my stool today was so dark.

I have had cramps in my belly but just thought it was to do with pms and pushed that aside.

I dont think its bowel cancer but i was researching which i knkw is a bad idea.

I belive i suffer from IBS as this runs in my family and a couple of months ago last year, faced a issue simular to this alrough my stool was still normal colour brown.

Could my stool be dark in colour due to the energy drinks dye colour (which is dark purple) ? Should i worry its possibly signs of bowel cancer?

Thank you so much

Carrie 

  • Hi Carrie

    Stool colour changes a lot with what you eat and drink and it won't be the same every day. It might be an idea though to reduce or stop the amount of high energy drinks .

    Bowel cancer in someone of your age is pretty rare - it's most probably best to avoid looking up too many health issues on the internet as it seldom provides any answers about yourself and will only make you more worried.

    Have a chat if you can , about your worries with a parent or trusted adult and if your cramps continue and you don't think they're period pains, make an appointment with the GP - not because of a worry it being cancer, but there can be many other explanations, including as you say, IBS.

    All the best

    Wanda