My dad was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer earlier this year and since then I have been absolutely wracked with anxiety about whether I have it as well.
I have extreme anxiety about going to the toilet at work or in public so I tend to hold it or 'rush' if I need to go and in 2019 I caused myself a small anal fissure (sorry TMI). This was confirmed with a proctoscopy at hospital. The fissure bleeds on and off depending on my bowel movements and it's red blood on the paper in little spots. Nothing that I've ever been too concerned about, nor the GP. I have been prescribed a strong analgesic for it and it usually sorts it out.
After my fissure started I also started to get really loud gurgling noises from my stomach/bowels which were so embarrassing as everyone can hear them. I'm not hungry, It's just gurgling and noise. No change to bowel habits at this point. GP said it was probably IBS and to cut out gluten and wheat for a while to see if that helped which it didn't to be honest.
Fast forward to about a week ago, I was really bloated but I put this down to my 'time of the month' as it usually makes me feel that way, but it hasn't gone away and I now have an aching pain in my abdomen. Nothing crippling but I can notice it. I catch myself with my bowels all tensed up. Nothing alarming about my bowl movements to me as I don't notice blood in them, just on the paper if my fissure is playing up.
I've also got a pain in the centre of my chest, breast bone area and when you press there it does hurt. That's started in the last few weeks as well.
Since my dad's diagnosis I have been pretty miserable and sedentary, I lay about a lot and I sleep on my side so I'm hoping that explains my chest pain. I am just so worried I have bowel cancer as well, the worry keeps me awake at night. I have a GP appt next week to discuss this and I want to commence tests to rule out anything serious. I cannot stop looking at forums where young people start out with 'just a fissure' or misdiagnosed IBS which turns out to be bowel cancer.
Am I being completely irrational here? Apologies for the ramble!