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18 years old. Could I have colon cancer?
I'm an 18 year old male. I don't think colon cancer runs in the family. About a year and a half ago I notice bright red blood in the toilet and on the toilet paper after a bowel movement that I had felt slightly constipated during. After that, on and off I noticed blood in my stool. Everntually the bleeding stopped and I also noticed mucus on the toilet paper that smelled foul. That also eventually stopped but I still have constipation an bloating and I notice pellet like stools sometimes but sometime the bowel movements are normal. Now about 6 days ago I noticed in front of my left ear that I have a swollen lump (possibly my preauricular lymph node?) it is firm, painless, and it does not move around. I also notice if I push on my stomach hard enough i can feel slight pain which I guess if u push on ur stomach that's gonna happen probably. But I started reading about colon cancer and I am absolutely freaking out. I also read about irratable bowel syndrome can cause bloating and constipation but now the swollen lymph node is about to make me have a panic attack thinking about colon cancer. I haven't changed my diet at all since this started. I'm in school and have to eat fast food alot because I don't have time for anything else. Please someone tell me what this could be and could I have colon cancer. And does this swollen lymph node have anything to do with this!?!?!?!?!
Hello I am a she and I just had mine done about 3 weeks ago and they told me I had the polyp for about 2 years and within 5 years it could have become cancer. Yes it is rare for this to happen, they had to send polyp off and have it checked for mismatched DNA repair or something like that to determine if this was a hereditary type polyp or not. Fortunately for my children it was NOT. I am thankful for that, I do have to go back every 4 years though and get colonoscopies done. Just be on the safe side and go get your colonoscopy done. Please... Keep us updated.
At 18 the chances of you having colon cancer would be extremely, and I do mean extremely rare. Most polyps that are cancerous take 10 years to go from polyp to cancer, which means you wouldve had to start growing this at 8 years old. Very unlikely.
I would be willing to bet all the money in the world that its hemorrhoids and IBS issues. While I agree its best to go to a doctor to get it checked out(The doc will start with a fecal occult blood test, simple stuff) I would not panic at all about it being cancer. bgb1976 is 33 and his case is very rare.
90% of all colon cancers happen to people 50 years and older, hence why they recommend a colonoscopy at 50 years. Statistics show that the chances of someone getting colon cancer at your age to be 1-3 in every 100,000(Meaning out of 100,000 people with colon cancer, only 1-3 people your age would have it) Again, I cannot stress enough how rare it would be for you to have it.
If your mom/dad, sis/bro does not/ did not have colon cancer, it is even more rare. Go to your doctor and get checked out. I doubt they will even refer you to a GI doctor. Also The lump on your ear will have nothing to do with your stomach issues. Read here for more info on IBS. Its a great forum: ****://***.*********.***/******/
Colonoscopies at his age will probably not be covered by insurance. It would be about $1500 out of pocket to get it, and at his age(Unless he has a bad history of family colon cancer) would probably not be warranted.
Keep us updated, but dont stress over it. You will be fine.
I would be willing to bet all the money in the world that its hemorrhoids and IBS issues. While I agree its best to go to a doctor to get it checked out(The doc will start with a fecal occult blood test, simple stuff) I would not panic at all about it being cancer. bgb1976 is 33 and his case is very rare.
90% of all colon cancers happen to people 50 years and older, hence why they recommend a colonoscopy at 50 years. Statistics show that the chances of someone getting colon cancer at your age to be 1-3 in every 100,000(Meaning out of 100,000 people with colon cancer, only 1-3 people your age would have it) Again, I cannot stress enough how rare it would be for you to have it.
If your mom/dad, sis/bro does not/ did not have colon cancer, it is even more rare. Go to your doctor and get checked out. I doubt they will even refer you to a GI doctor. Also The lump on your ear will have nothing to do with your stomach issues. Read here for more info on IBS. Its a great forum: ****://***.*********.***/******/
Colonoscopies at his age will probably not be covered by insurance. It would be about $1500 out of pocket to get it, and at his age(Unless he has a bad history of family colon cancer) would probably not be warranted.
Keep us updated, but dont stress over it. You will be fine.
1 Comments
Absolutely right, dunno why young one's are trapped in all problems just go to doctor and let him tell what the problem is...Depression also causes bad stomach health issues...
Hey there, I am 33, had blood and mucus for about 2 years and I finally went 3 weeks ago and had colonoscopy and they removed a adanoma polyp which is a precancerous polyp which could eventually turn into colon cancer so do yourself a favor and just demand a colonoscopy and get it done and over with and get a piece of mind. It is really very easy. please keep us updated.
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