Bloody mucousy stools

[PhillygirlToo]

My 38-year old daughter, mother of 3, lost over 100 pounds between September of 2007 and June of 2008 on the Food Addicts Anonymous diet, which prohibits anything made from flour or that contains sugar.  She eats healthy, but it does involve a lot of salads and raw veggies and fruit.

She has kept off the weight.  She just told me that she has been having bloody mucousy stools and I am petrified that it is colon cancer.  Her doctor has referred her to a gastroenteritist (sp), but she won't be seen until the end of next month.  I am concerned that if this is cancer, a delay of a month could be dangerous!  What are these doctors thinking?

What else could these bloody mucousy stools be a symptom of?

[PhillygirlToo]

Thanks for your reply.  My daughter is on a diet rich in fiber, fruit and raw veggies.  She eats oatmeal regularly and drinks plenty of water and gets plenty of exercise, that's why she's so puzzled as to why she'd have this problem.  She considered hemorrhoids, but the blood and mucous are in her stools.

I am concerned about this food regimen she's on, it forbids flour and sugar totally, but she did lose all that weight without drugs or surgery in less than a year!  And I've seen what she eats every day -- it's almost like too MUCH food to me, but she's maintaining her weight.  

I will tell her about the ER thing.  I'd really like to see her get a colonoscopy immediately, tho, and that takes a day of prep.  

[ggreg]

She could have a scan a whole lot quicker, and it would reveal if there were a growth of some kind.  I agree with you about the delay, it's sheer nonsense.  One sure-fire way to get a scan real quick is for her to go to the ER and explain about the blood and ask for a scan.  Then you can at least get that out of the way of concern.

Blood in stool can sometimes also mean she has hemorrhoids, which they will bleed on account of constipation.  You can ask her if she gets that way sometimes.  If so, it can be caused by medications, or not enough water and exercise, or a need for more fiber AND getting enough to food to eat.  Something good for digestion is she can make whole oat cereal from stuff in the health food store, she really has to get her grains.  

There's also a possibility she has an intestinal bacteria going on, which her family doc can do a stool sample and draw blood to check for that.