Hello Burner19, 

A big welcome to Cancer Chat. How kind of you to post about your worries regarding your brother when you are going through cancer treatment yourself. It sounds like your brother has been very much affected by your diagnosis and that given that he has now had several tests which ruled out cancer, it sounds like your diagnosis may have triggered in him some health anxiety. You could perhaps suggest that he talks to his GP about it and his doctor will be able to point him in the right direction to help him deal with this overwhelming anxiety. The AnxietyUK site may also be a useful resource for him at the moment. This anxiety may also be symptomatic of the fact that he is worried about you and that he deeply cares about you. I hope you can manage to find some nice quality time together doing things you both enjoy - any welcome distraction to take his mind off his incessant worrying. 

I also wanted you to know that this forum is also there for you for support - so if you wanted to come and chat to others who have been diagnosed with bowel cancer, we are here for you at any time of day or night. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Burner I hope you are well. 
 

What symptoms did you have if you do not mind me asking? 
thank you 

Hi, I was diagnosed at 37 with stage 3 bowel cancer.  My husband went through a similar scenario as your brother, he convinced himself he also had bowel cancer and told me he had only 3 weeks to live! All his tests came back clear and they were thorough, but he still believed he was seriously ill.  Eventually he had a break down and doctors said he had post traumatic stress, if I could give you any advice it would be to get him to see a doctor about his mental health as my husband got much worse and completely out of character for him, he's always been happy go lucky.  Thankfully he is on tablets and much better but had caused others issues for him.

as for me i finished my chemo in May and I had my reversal of stoma on 12th November and have had no problems at all.  My bowel h as bits are pretty much back to normal and nothing like the horror stories I had read! I am so glad I had the surgery! 
 

hope your brother gets the help he needs x

Think I have replied to my own post!  I changed my details slightly when I first posted as my husband has access to my emails etc and i ididnt want himto read post and recognised as himself!!

Hi KK Gab,

My symptoms were bleeding when going to loo, but not much, I left it 3 months until I went to doctors.  I also had bloating and my poos were thinner than normal and I felt like i hadnt finished.  I was diagnosed 8th December, i had the tumour removed on 8th January and a ileostoy stoma formed, followed b y chemo.  I had reversal of the stoma on 12th NOvember (4 weeks ago today( and I can honestly say that I am so glad I had it done, I was up in my feet much quicker than I thought I woudl be! 

Hi Burner, 

thank you so much for your reply and I am glad you are back on your feet!! Well done. When you noticed blood was it in your stool or when you wiped a bit detailed I know, however I have had tests done (ct scan in a&e, stool samples and bloods) all came back okay however I am just not convinced. 
 

Hi,

it was when i wiped, and was a red/brown colour and towards the end it was more like liquid when i went to the loo.  My blood tests done at the GP all came back normal, it wasnt until i was referred to the colorectal clinic on the 2 week cancer pathway that they did a colonoscopy and told me there and then that o had a large tumour.  Then all the tests began, the ct scan confirmed it and that it hadnt spread and that i had 1 lymph node involved.  I also had specific tumour marker blood tests which also confirmed it.  I really didnt have that much in the way of symptoms that I noticed at once, I though that I had piles which is why i left it for 3 months.  I never did a stool sample and didnt have any rectal examinations.

I hope this helps!  If you have any more questions I am more than happy to answer them x

Hi thanks for your reply once again. I like you have also had a tumour marker done I'm sure it was called Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test. What test did you have done if you don't mind me asking.