Bowel cancer symptoms

Can anyone help me out...

I have been passing blood on and off for 5 years or so now and having lose stools ... now my stools are flat ribbon like and short.. I have recently gone to my gp and they have refered me to endosocpy dept at the countess in chester (took 2 months). The consultant did no examination just asked me of i was stressed which i am not. After a long discussion he has now said i will recieve an appointment in the post for a colonoscopy. Does anyone know how long these take and should i be concerned with my symptoms as everyday now things are getting worse.

Thanks

David

  • It's difficult to say how long you might have to wait for the colonoscopy.  I would guess that you haven't been put on a two week urgent pathway, and from that I would infer that you're probably too young for colon cancer to be a serious consideration.  The questions about stress was probably to see if IBS might be a factor.  

     

  • Thanks for the reply.. am 33. Ive seen the consultant this morning but he didnt say how long it would be. I was told by my gp it is urgent but from what i was getting of the consultant was that it was stress related which baffled me i thought with my stools coming out flat that would mean i i have an obstruction there some were ... i am just flapping a bit sorry 

  • I am not a doctor, but I am an IBS sufferer.

    My understanding is that IBS is linked to stress, and one of things that can happen is that the bowel muscles can constrict the bowel canal, and hence cause the stools to have unusual shapes.  Whether that's happening with you I can't say.  Bowel cancer in someone your age is very unusual, whereas IBS is a very common condition.  

  • hiya, i'm not far from you and in a similar ish situation. i had my first hospital appointment maybe a month ago, which was just to talk to the dr and was told i would be booked in for a colonoscopy. i received a letter a week or two later with another appointment (doesn't specify a clonoscopy, but i believe it is), but that isn't until july.

  • David

    A couple of things I would like to know?

    How much pasta do you eat?

    Whats you alcohol consumption like, do you drink beer?

    Whats your diet like?

    About your colonoscopy. You would have been sent straight to the hospital with a chitty to get it done immediately if there was a serious concern. There a whole host of things you might have. The are also a lot of things you can do to improve your gut health too.

     

  • Hi Chesterfieldfc, Ihad a colonoscopy within 4 weeks I first had a endoscopy after a blood test, which showed I had acute aneamia, the colonoscopy lasted about 45 minutes, and was quite painless, I since have had major bowel surgary and I have been put on the oncology I have three weeks to make up my mind weather to take it up or not, it has been quite a journey since February when it all kicked off, hope this is some help to you best wishes Darrell