Colon symptoms - CT scan showed swollen colon, having a colonoscopy next week. Fearing the worst

Hi  

iam a 45year old male, for a while now I have been getting blood when I for a number 2 probably going on for years now, I just put it down to hemeroids ? However about 3 months ago I got this really bad stabbing pain in my left side whilst I was eating and since then things have gotten worse the blood has increased dramatically in the toilet and clots aswell, last Saturday night was really bad so Sunday morning I told my wife I’m off to the hospital to get checked out, I ended up having a ct scan that they said showed my whole colon was swollen so they have booked me in for a colonoscopy next week, I’ve been doomscrolling the internet etc and trying get an idea what it is, I was looking at colitis but they seem to be really struggling with diarrhoea but I’ve not really been that bad on this symptom, I’ve also not lost my appetite however I’m really struggling with eating as it’s become very painful getting bloated easily as my foods struggling to get through my digestive tract, oh and my bloods were clear, but a couple of years ago my doctor took some bloods whilst checking my thyroid and told me my iron levels were low? Can’t wait for the colonoscopy to get some answers, I’m really fearing the worst because I’m sure I can feel something inside my bowl. 
thanks for listening  

  • Hi Scatmans,

    Thank you for posting and I'm sorry to hear about your symptoms. There is some information about the colonoscopy test on our website, which you can read in the meantime so you have an idea of what to expect. When youre worried that you may have cancer, it can be natural to think the worst and want to find answers online, but this can end up increasing anxiety rather than making you feel better. Waiting can be difficult, but it helps to focus on other things and there is also some guidance on coping with waiting for news, which I hope will be useful to you.

    Wishing you all the best for your appointment,

    Moderator Anastasia