I had very similar symptoms last summer - lost about a stone in a year, had repeated blood on the toilet paper for weeks on end, bad trapped wind for a couple of weeks and occasional loose stools (maybe once a week). It turned out to be hemorrhoids, probably combined with the stress of the whole thing and a few coincidences.

The consultant said that at my age - I was 40 at the time - cancer was the least likely of the possible options and I'd be "the most unlucky person in the world if it turned out to be that." He didn't even acknowledge the weight loss, said if it was significant it would be visible to people around me.

You did the right thing by booking an appointment but the odds are there is nothing serious wrong with you. At our age, bowel cancer is pretty uncommon.

Thank you so much for replying, that does make me feel a bit better, I've been reading younger people stories on the bcuk website and I've been absolutely climbing the walls. Hopefully I'll get a bit of sleep tonight, I hope it comes back as positive as yours x

Thank you so much for replying, that does make me feel a bit better, I've been reading younger people stories on the bcuk website and I've been absolutely climbing the walls. Hopefully I'll get a bit of sleep tonight, I hope it comes back as positive as yours x