Hi Lynn,

What sort of scan did you have previously? 

Sorry to read about your panic attack triggered by the MRI. I hope you manage to get past this. It isn't that uncommon a fear - some people need to be sedated or even have a general anaesthetic.

The MRI scan has better resolution than a CT scan, which in turn has far better resolution than  an ultrasound. The better the resolution, the smaller the things that can be detected. 

On the plus side, my own cancer was detected during an endoscopy and you must have had one of those to enable the surgeon to remove the polyp. Anything obviously wrong in your bowel would have been noticed then. Only a CT scan or an MRI scan will give you a good idea of whether or not the cancer has spread elsewhere. 

With luck, your surgeon will be right and the cancer won't have spread outside the polyp which has already been removed.

Best wishes

Dave

Thank you Dave for taking the trouble to reply.  I had a CT scan and then when I couldn't go through with the MRI I was sent for another CT scan but a colonography one as it has different imaging. I have no idea why the cancer was missed.  Nothing showed on the scans but as you say the MRI is the best one to see everything. It's such a shock after being given the all clear last November. I daren't hope that the cancer won't have spread after being wrongly diagnosed  but I have to hope it's treatable. Thanks again. 

Wilan, I wondered if they would let my husband in as he would help calm me down but I don't think they will.  I shall do my best, consultant suggested going in on my tummy might be better so I'll give it a go. There is an open MRI scanner in a different hospital in Wales but the consultant said they are not as good as normal MRI scanners.. I even offered to pay.  We will see how it goes. 

Hi I've had breast cancer I know it's different but I had lots of scans and nothing ever showed up it was only my persistents that means I'm alive today. I know it's awful to get the diagnosis but at least they have found it and can remove it and you can get the treatment that you need. I just had colonoscopy and they have removed a polyp so now waiting for CT scan . It's all quite confusing I understand your fear of MRI but  will be best for you. I'm confused why do I need a CT scan ? 10 months is a long time to be getting and waiting for tests I don't understand why they didn't give you colonoscopy first. Some of the consultants have been doing their job too long and can be very blasé . My BC was aggressive I was relieved when they found it and I'm still here. Try and be positive have your MRI and what ever treatment you need them try and get on with your life. Think we both need a meat free diet ! Hope you feel better and don't have to wait much longer!

Hi BettyBoo

Thanks for your reply. I'm pleased you were persistent and got your diagnosis. I am also pleased everything is going well for you. This was posted over 3 years ago at a time that I was extremely anxious and struggling with the diagnosis. We are all different with how we handle things aren't we. It's been a while ago now. I still go back for checks every 6 months but the cancer was contained in the polyp and hopefully my next scans will be the last.  I still struggle with MRI's. That's not going to change, but I do my best. CT scans and MRI's show different imaging and are often done to get a fuller picture of what is going on. Now, I'm more worried about coronavirus! 

Hi Lynne888

I came across your posts while googling some scary symptoms I am currently under going. All of a sudden I've lost a lot of weight for no apparent reason in anda short space of time, I'm very worried it's something sinister. I've been told on and off for two years that I have got piles whenever I have any rectal bleeding but all the home treatments I've tried are no longer working. I often have blood after a bowel movement and my Dr has done some blood tests and ordered a lower abdominal scan which I'm having on Tuesday. He's more concerned it could be something to do with my ovaries but I am worried that my piles are something more serious. He told me my blood tests didn't show signs of anemia or low iron so he doesn't think it is BC. I just wanted to know whether you had blood tests and they found anything on those that prompted the tests and what tests/scans you had. I'm terrified as I have two young children and need to be well for them and with this virus about it's taken a month to get my lower abdominal scan come through. 

Hi. I do understand how worrying all of this can be. I still have checks once a year (although this year's have been cancelled). These usually consist of a colonoscopy, MRI and CT scan and I do always have a blood test. This test can show some markers of Bowel cancer so if you have had the same blood test and it hasn't thrown anything up, it's a good sign. Colonoscopy is usually the first port of call for bowel cancer. Is the blood you see fresh? I suffer with piles and it really is totally different looking.  Have they ruled out Crohns? I believe you can lose a lot of weight if you get that. 

Hi Lynne888

Sorry to hear your check ups this year have been cancelled. Such troubling times isn't it.

I have had a majority of blood tests but not the bowel cancer blood test. The Dr did inflammation ones, FBC, liver and kidney tests, thyroid checks, ovarian cancer marker due to abdominal pains. My liver functions came back slightly high, he mentioned my bilirubin levels but he didn't seem concerned. I also have a severe vitamin D deficiency which he is treating. Oh is it? Yes it is bright red usually upon wiping or on the stool itself. Sometimes it drips into the toilet. Definitely looks fresh. I can also feel an external one but it fails to get any better with home treatments and is worrying me. The Dr said he would be happy to try and pursue other ways to remove it once Coronavirus has calmed down. Think it's the weight loss that's scared me the most as I don't just use lose weight. He told me he thinks I'm being too anxious and that he was happy with my blood tests but wanted the abdominal scan to rule out anything that could be underlying.

It sounds to me like your GP has covered all bases there. I too suffer from anxiety and I know for a fact I made a lot of things worse with my worries. The blood in the toilet is definitely piles, I really wouldn't worry too much at all about that. It's completely treatable.  I have a few health issues at the moment and cannot go anywhere with them. I think the whole thing is made a lot worse by the fact that we have this lockdown and if we DO have to go to the GP or hospital, we are then worried about contacting the virus. It's not great for those of us who do not feel well at the moment but we are all in the same boat.  I'm sure the scan will put your mind at rest.  I'm not going to say try not to worry because it didn't work when people said it to me but please be reassued by the fact that your GP is happy with a lot of the things he has already done/checked 

Thank you so much. It's good to talk about it. 

I'm sorry to hear you are suffering health issues at the moment and completely understand how hard it is to feel poorly during lockdown. I was a nervous wreck just getting my blood tests done and that was before we entered lockdown now we are in lockdown I'm even more terrified. The nurse at the hospital has been amazing though and reassured me that it is part of the hospital they call the 'clean zone' so no inpatients at all. They are also spacing appointments out 30 mins apart to help with the social distancing and they have three waiting rooms. How do you cope when you are really anxious?  Have you got anything that calms you down? I am still trying to find ways to calm down as some nights I have such bad panic attacks it's making me quite ill but the Dr didn't want to give me anything as he said it would probably make me feel worse at this stage.