Hi Sandy

Sorry you are going through this worry with your husband.

The fit test detects all blood so if it comes back positive, he will probably have blood tests too and maybe a colonoscopy to find the cause.. 

Blood could be several things from piles to cancer with other things like diverculitis.

Hello Sandy987 and thanks for posting, 

A positive FIT test means that some blood has been detected in the poo, but it doesn't show why the bleeding is happening. Several conditions are associated with bleeding into the bowel and although cancer is one of them, it isn't the only possible explanation. The next test is usually a colonoscopy which is when a bendy tube with a light and camera inside is passed along the bowel to examine it and identify the cause of the bleeding. 

It is hard not to worry about unexplained symptoms and I think most people feel stressed and anxious until they know the score. Most probably all you can do for now is try and hold your nerve and keep an open mind. It is tempting to turn to the internet to look for answers but this doesn't always help and it is easy to go around in circles without being any the wiser, so we usually say to try and resist it.

I hope your husband finds out more soon.

If you want to talk anything over please do give us a call on Freephone 0808 800 4040, we are around weekdays 9-5. 

Best wishes, 

Julia

Thank you the hospital doctor rung him today 29 march and said the fit test was 43% and said to my husband that is low the doctor said he can choose to have another fit test or the camera my husband said the camera but now he said he does not want it done and he still said that 43% is high even though the doctor said it is low he still say he has got cancer is 43% low and means has has not got cancer he has been crying all day. I would like to understand so I can help him to stop worrying for a moment 

Can I ask if you have colon or bowel cancer can the pain be stabbing and move around your body in the stomach as my husband has got that and found a positive fit test 

Both are the same.

I have had it twice but fingers forever crossed now I don't after surgery and chemo.

Pain in same place, apart from bloating and the 'windy' pain that it caused.

Low iron levels too, has your husband got blood results?

No blood test yet going to have a camera up his bottom in two weeks but he says he might not go for it the doctor told him the fit test was 43% and he said it is low so we don't know if he mean he got colon cancer or not he is so worried. He has told me to plan things which is upsetting me no one will tell me if 43% is class as cancer

My husband pain is in the left front side like it is stabbing him them it goes in his stomach to his right side and under his armpits he is still eating well and has not loses any weight and when he goes a poo it does not hurt or no blood. Can that be bowel cancer 

No FIT test result is classed as cancer or will tell you he has cancer. It's a test for blood in the stools, not cancer. If there is no blood in the stools, cancer is very, very unlikely. If there is blood, there are many possible reasons, of which cancer is only one. The FIT test cannot tell what is causing the blood. That is what the camera test is for. Honestly, it is best to get it done, if only for reassurance. And it's not just about finding out if it is cancer. Whatever is causing his stomach problems should be investigated.

Bowel cancer is not the most likely cause of blood in the stool. It could be caused by piles, a polyp, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, certain infections, diverculitis... Nobody can know which just from the result of the FIT test. 

How old your husband is makes a difference too. Bowel cancer is more common among older people. The younger he is, the less likely cancer is.

Hi Margaretmary my husband is 48 years old and the test come back Positive the doctor said it was 43% my husband has got pain in this left side with is a dull pain to stabbing pain and he has got wind badly more. And his stomach is bloating. He is very pale as well I don't know what to do as he keeps saying it is colon cancer

I'm really not sure there's much you can do other than be supportive and wait for the colonoscopy. Let him know that you don't really think cancer is that likely (I had some symptoms of colon cancer over the summer; thankfully turned out to be hemorrhoids, probably combined with the stress of the situation and a few coincidences and it helped a little to be reminded that cancer did not seem likely to other people who heard my symptoms).

The test being positive just means there is blood in the stool. There are loads of possible reasons for that and cancer is probably a long way down the list.

But it makes sense that your husband would be concerned. Even if his GP has told him cancer is not the most likely option, even a slight chance of cancer is scary. It's hard not to think "but what if I am the one in 100? Somebody has to be." This is particularly the case if you have had previous health problems; I do not know if your husband has. I had thyroid cancer, so a lot of the ways I tried to reassure myself weren't that helpful: "the odds are against it" - "well, they were against that thyroid nodule being cancer too;" "the doctors don't seem worried" - "well, they straight out said they thought I was fine when I was being tested for thyroid cancer" and so on.

I do think 48 would be young for bowel cancer. I was 40 when I had symptoms and the consultant said that if my mother came in with the same symptoms, he would be concerned about bowel cancer but at my age, I'd be "the unluckiest person in the world" if it was.