Piles definitely have not been ruled out. I had almost the exact same experience, blood on the paper (though for a lot longer than 6 days, more like a month), went to the doctor, no sign of piles on the examination, then a colonoscopy and guess what was found! Piles. The nurses said beforehand that it wasn't unusual for nothing to be found in the doctor's office, that some of them are internal or are not visible at all times.

Nor are piles and cancer the only two options. There are loads of things that can cause rectal bleeding - a fissure, a polyp, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's... And given that you have young children, cancer is probably pretty unlikely. I was 40 when I had my colonoscopy and the doctor told me that if my mother came in with the same symptoms (rectal bleeding, some weight loss, some loose stools - maybe once or twice a week - and trapped wind), he would be considering cancer but that at my age, it would be the least likely of all the possible options and I would be "the most unlucky person in the world" if that turned out to be the explanation.

Thanks @MargaretMary, I really appreciate you replying. I have a tendency to catastrophize situations and this has made me go over the edge a little I think. 

Your answer is very reassuring and I hope our outcome is exactly the same. 

My husband is 47 so a little older than when you had your procedure but not significantly and so with that and the absolute lack of any other symptoms (no change in bowel movements or weight or appetite etc) I am feeling a little less overwhelmed about it. So thank you. 

He has been given a FIT kit to give a stool sample and is booked in for a blood test tomorrow at the GP's so hopefully we will know more following the results of that. 

Hi, the other commenter was quite right, piles haven't been ruled out at all.  You can get what's called internal piles, which can only be seen in a colonoscopy. Plus tons of other potential things. If he's in otherwise good shape, not losing weight, not having issues with changed bowel movements, lots of gas, etc etc, then it's massively unlikely to be sinister.

Just do the tests the Dr wants and if a colonoscopy is ordered, don't panic because like I said even internal piles can't be seen by any other means.  And it's not at all as nasty as it sounds, I had one in October and had the best sleep of my life . Best wishes. 

Thanks Scottishmuppet, your post is very reassuring. 

It feels like a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions at the moment and in these situations, it is easy to jump to the worst case scenario. I am trying to stay away from Google as it is not helping but I did read that for his age group (45-49) the incident rate for BC is less than 1%. So I am taking reassurance from that.

He still has no other symptoms apart from now remembering that the Saturday before the first lot of bleeding appeared (on the Monday), he had a stomach ache like trapped wind. It didn't last long and he didn't think anything of it. But I am trying not to read too much into that as it hasn't reappeared. And certainly no loss of appetite or dramatic weight loss or excessive gas like you mentioned. 

Hopefully the bloods will come back tomorrow and the stool samples by the end of the week. I feel quite anxious about those coming back because there was obvious blood on the outside of the sample so I am bracing myself for a positive FIT test. 

Sorry to post again but it has been a hard few days and I guess I am loking for a handhold or a positive story. 

We haven't heard anything back from the doctors regarding blood tests yet. I had braced myself for them yesterday but it didn't happen. I am unsure if that is because they are not back or haven't been reviewed or they don't call you if there is nothing found.

And nothing has changed in terms of general health/eating/weight. It is just the wait and the uncertainly is awful. I keep veering between thinking that because it is only after each bowel movement and then stops and continues to be bright red then that is a positive thing and then other times I get so worried that it has now been going on like this for so long (11 days straight) and the amount of blood hasn't reduced that it must be something worse. 

My lovely Dad had a heart attack yesterday as well and is in  intensive care waiting for an operation and that is obviously adding to all my fears and worries. 

Hello [@MargaretMary]‍ , I've been scrolling through this forum as a way of finding a little comfort, as I received a positive fit test on Friday ( 162.3, patient at high risk, urgent referral needed etc). This was out of the blue as just a fortnight earlier I received a negative result for my national screening programme test. To say my anxiety levels are through the roof is an understatement. Although I turned 60 last November, I feel pretty fit for my age (gym at least 3 times/week, generally active, slim build etc). Despite this I suffer chronic anxiety and am aware I now fall into the age group that's more vulnerable to bowel cancer.

I really like your upbeat approach and wish you all the best for your own health journey (I'm Jane btw - pls excuse the weird username lol) xx

Also [@Lalaear]‍ - hope you and your husband are feeling ok today and managed to have a decent nights sleep. He'll soon have got his tests out the way and then you can both get on with your lives together xx

I'm glad you managed to get a decent nights sleep [@Lalaear]‍ as that really does help. I actually slept ok too - I felt exhausted last night, maybe due to the stress of the past couple of days. I've stepped up the gym and am working out every day at the moment - partly to reassure myself I'm still capapble of a tough workout, "so I must be ok, right?" I've got my blood test booked in for tomorrow afternoon (privately as I couldn't get one before March on nhs) and I feel anxious in case that shows something up too.  I'm trying to make myself eat properly (even though I don't have much of an appetite now) as I don't want to lose any weight.  Im also going to try and see my GP about my anxiety and also I have many unanswered questions about recent events.

From what you've said about your husband, all the signs sound positive and it's really good that he's staying calm.  The blood in poo could so conceivably be due to internal piles and the fact there don't seem to be any other symptoms is also positive, plus of course his age is on his side.  I'm now worrying i may have been too complacent about seeing occasional blood over time and putting it down to my piles, but i know these thoughts do no good!

Try to enjoy your day together and with the children.  Hoping this week goes well and please continue to post on here if it helps (I know I will!) xx

Hi Jane,

I thought I would update as when I was searching I found it very frustrating not to hear the outcome. 

My husband went for his colonoscopy today. It took about 2 hours all up and he reports back that the actual procedure was not difficult or painful as he was sedated. 

The findings have come back as haemorrhoids as the most likely cause of the bleeding. They also removed a 13mm pedunculated polyp (apparently a sizable one according to the nurse). Both the nurse and the consultant said to him (and me - I asked about three times!) that it looked in no way dodgy and that while it had been sent to pathology as routine, they would expect 99% for it to come back clear. It was completely routine to remove it. They also said that if on the very very small chance it came back with cell changes, it would not matter as it had been fully removed. 

So you can imagine our immense relief. The consultant aslo said that the FIT is virtually useless as a tool if there is visible blood as it is always going to come back positive. My husband's was apparently 182 so very high and caused days of extra unnecessary stress. 

Overall, this has been a very anxious and stressful time and not one I would want to repeat in a hurry but hopefully it may help you in your lead up to your procedure. 

x