Awaiting tests and really anxious

I was put on 2 week referral after severe rectal bleeding and saw the consultant yesterday. He had a good prod of my tummy which really hurt and hes ordered a flexible sigmoidoscopy and CT colonography which should happen in the next 2 weeks as I'm on the urgent pathway.

I'm so anxious about the whole thing. I had a colonoscopy in 2014 and it was agony, apparently I have a sharp bend in my colon so they had to abandon the test and complete it under a GA when they found and removed a small polyp and removed a couple of internal piles. I had a lot of stitches and it was some of the worst pain in my life. I thought that was the end of my bowel issues but 2 weeks ago i woke up and had soaked the bed with blood from my rectum (the blood was literally dripping from me and was terrifying) and was seen by my GP the same day and referred to the hospital.

When the consultant was asking me how I've been feeling i told him I've been having really bad bloating and gas for the past couple of months which I'd out down to increasing how much I've been running, I've never been a gassy person but recently it's been so bad, like really loud air (not smelly farts if that makes sense). I also keep getting pain in the sides of my tummy which he pressed when he was palpatine my stomach and hurt. He asked about family history and when I heard myself saying that my Grandad died of bowel cancer and so did his Dad and my Dad has yearly tests I scared myself.

I've told myself if its cancer it can't be that bad as there were no signs when they operated on me in 2014 but I'm really anxious and am struggling to tell myself it'll all be ok.

Has anyone else had symptoms with increased gas and bloating with tummy pain and has anyone else ever bled like that without it being when you go to the toilet?

 

  • Hello Serena75, 

    I just wanted to welcome you to our forum. I hope you won't have to wait too long for your scans. I can imagine it must be a very stressful time for you while waiting to find out more but hopefully you will get some definite answers soon. 

    I know it is really hard but try not to worry too much or anticipate what it might be. The best thing to do to avoid thinking too much about this is to keep busy and distracted if you can and avoid looking things up online. I can imagine it is hard for you to do this at the moment but it will help you feel a little less anxious. 

    I hope you will also hear from others here who have been through all this before and that they will be along soon to share their story with you. 

    Keeping everything crossed for you that everything turns out fine. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • My symptoms are different to yours but I just wanted to say, I was put on an urgent 2 week referral yesterday so completely understand your worry and anxiety. As hard as it is I keep reminding myself I went to the GP as soon as I knew something was wrong as have you so hopefully that gives us a better chance of being treated early. Sending you best wishes