can it be anything else than colon cancer?

[sasensas]

i am having a sigmoidscopy next week at my request. my GP is convinced that there is no serious condition, i myself am convinced i have a tumor. i am sick with fear and anxiety and desperate to find out if my symptoms can be due to anything other than cancer. please, let me know your opinion.

49, F, obese and sedentary since 1990, eat lots of fiber but lots of fat too (no fast food), health always excellent, digestion perfect until 2 years ago when i started having narrow stools alternating with normal 'turds' and somewhat looser stools sometimes. last year started getting up very early for bowel movements. 6 weeks ago dramatic change: narrow stools, flat stools, mucus (3x), diarrhea followed by bleeding hemmoroid (1x), sometimes 3,4 times a day BM - sometimes just 1x. splenix flexure syndrome (mild), nausea and loss of appetite (but probably due to depression and anxiety - no weight loss). tried psyllium and lactulose but they make stools looser and cause mucus. blood test perfect, x-ray of abdomen shows no obstruction or lots of feces in guts.  I AM TOTALLY AFRAID AND DEPRESSED and i want to know if there is just the slightest of chance the outcome of the s'scopy will be a happy one. thankfully yours, sasensas

[Kevin Pho, MD]

The sigmoidoscopy and/or colonoscopy would be the most comprehensive tests to evaluate for this.  Other than cancer, things like a colon polyp or diverticulosis can be causing these symptoms.  

Regarding the diarrhea, I would send the stool off for culture, to ensure there is no infection nor parasite causing the symptoms.  

Regarding colon cancer - of course this is worst-case scenario, but you can be rest-assured there are other causes that can cause the symptoms.  The colonoscopy would be the most comprehensive test.  

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
Medical Weblog:
kevinmd_b

[yoshi]

how about irritable bowel syndrome??It seems to be the answer du jour these days??

[sasensas]

yoshi, i am sorry but i do appreciate this kind of tongue-in-cheek ironic remarks...i am really very worried and looking for support. i hope you understand what i'm saying.

[sasensas]

...of course i meant: i do NOT appreciate it.

[yoshi]

sorry,my apology,i was trying to ease your mind -if you read the past threads,IBS is often mentioned as possible culprit.

[sasensas]

thanks for that, yoshi...i myself are hoping for ibs too.

[eveningstar]

Your symptoms could be caused by so many different things, many of which are not serious.  Why are you having a sigmoidoscopy and not a colonoscopy?  The sig can only check the lower third of the colon, but a colonoscopy visualizes the entire colon.   Try to stay positive.   Things are probably not as bad as you think.  Keep us posted and best of luck.

[sasensas]

thank you so much for your kind reaction. the reason for the sig. instead of a colons. is that the latter is not without risk and furthermore that my symptoms would clearly point out a problem in the last part of the colon.

[Biskie2]

Please explain why you feel a colonoscopy is WITH risk?  It will be able to tell you exactly what is going on in your colon.  The lower third (sig) won't tell the whole story. You may have IBS, Crohn's, etc. - but they really need to do a colonoscopy. X-rays and blood tests are fine, but you need to go further. Good luck!

[shubunkin]

I am not writing this to scare you but my mother died 2 years ago at the age of 46 of colon cancer. It had spread thoughout her whole body before it was found. The doc said a sig never would had caught it. Everything has risk but the risk is small and it could save your life so please consider......I do pray it is something non-threatening. My best to you, Danielle

[sasensas]

thanks everybody for your concern and support.  i have spoken to my doctor and he said that we'll first do a sigmo. and should it not reveal anything, we will go for the colons. i think this is all insurance policy, since a colons. is much more costly than a sigmo.  anyhow, i'll be sure to raise hell to get all of the necessary tests within the next few weeks. my GP strongly believes it is diverticular disease but there are many symptoms that would contradict this. plus my father has diverticulosis and it is nothing like what i got. i try to keep my hope up since my bloodwork was good (excellent, even) and there was no anemia at all.

[sasensas]

you asked how a colons. could risky: there is always a chace of perforating the colon wall with the scopic tube, which can lead to serious complications. the longer the tube, the bigger the risk. still, i agree with you that it is a bit ridiculous to not get a colons. right away: if the sigmo. shows nothing i will have to have one anyway and it it DOES show something (polyp, tumor) i suppose they will do the whole thing too. sort of time-consuming, it seems.

[Biskie2]

I believe they use a flexible tube for the colonoscopy and a rigid one for the sigmoidoscopy. If I had a choice, I'd just have the one procedure, but with health insurance regulations, you're probably right about them wanting to keep the cost down. They'll just have to pay for both! Risk is minimal with a colonoscopy with a trained gastroenterologist. I hope they find nothing serious. Keep us posted!

[mkinder]

Hi Sasensas, I know exactly what you are going through and are feeling. I have the same thing. I have had diareah every single day for 6 years now. I do not know the reason it has came on but the only thing that I know is that it all started when I started having gallstone attacks. I suffered with those for 2 1/2 years before they removed my gallbladder. I have finally went to a Gastroenterologist the day before yesterday. I told him what my problems was and he said that I could have a spastic colon. I think that is the same thing as IBS. He set me up an appointment to have a CT done of my abdomen and pelvis. He also is going to do a Flexible Sigmoidoscopy. Do you have alot of cramps? He put me on this presciption called Levbid and I have only taken it for a day now and it seems to be helping me with the diareah part.My daily basis of going to the bathrrom is around 6-7 times a day. Not fun when all you do is go to the bathroom. Please try not to get yourself so worked up about this it will make your diareah worse. I feel for you and I hope you get some answer to all of your problems. Take Care
Michelle

[surgeon]

the ancient sigmoidoscopes were rigid. The ones used now are like those for colonoscopy, only shorter. They still often can get quite far.

[sasensas]

hi michelle, appreciate your support greatly. however, i do not have diarrhea - just frequent bowel movements and intermittent constipation.  i had a spell of loose stools once or twice, but i think that may be because i overdid it on the lactulosis. well, i'll hopefully learn more by next tuesday.  take care.

[sasensas]

new development: yesterday i had a terrible spell of diarrhea, following 'normal' stools.  i spotted something odd-looking in the bowl and used tweezers to take it out, rinse it off and take it to the GP who sent it in to the PA lab. it was basically a thin whitish membrane, clearly protein, with small ribforms on the inside. doctor claims he has never seen this phenomenon before, which did not really ease my mind.  since i believed it to be a worm or something, i called on my best friend who is a vet (i gathered that any parasite would come from my dogs) and told him about it. he immediately knew what is was: small piece of the mucous membrane. it is very common in dog poo when there is a parasite present. however, i do not have any signs of an infection and somehow my GP is reluctnt to do fecal lab-tests, although i asked him to do that several times. (health regulations again???) i wonder if anyone has ever seen this thing?

[yoshi]

i dont understand why your doc is against testing this and testing that?/what kind of insurance do you have??
I am in houston and the summer is hot,i go to a clinic manned by 4 espanic doctors for general issues and they are always alert on hector pylori infection,parasitic infection etc as they see enough patients infected with dirty water,stale food and not so sanitary living condition.
h pylori test can now be done by breath test and fecal test you sent it to the lab,no big deal.
They dont cost much and they will sure ease your mind.