Do I have colon cancer?

[dhz]

I'm going to a doctor about this, so don't even tell me that. I just want to know what YOU think, hopefully it'll ease my nerves untill I get to the doctors on the dec 11th.

Over the past two months, I've had a range of different bowel movements. Some have been fat and roundish; others have been thin and flat. Would I be seeing that range if you had colon cancer.

So is it a problem if I went from not being able to **** for a day, to have something like but not really direria?

I normally **** at once a day...

Abdominal distension: Nope
Abdominal pain: Nope
Unexplained, persistent nausea or vomiting: Nope
Unexplained weight loss: Nope
Change in frequency or character of stool (bowel movements): nope
Small-caliber (narrow) or ribbon-like stools: I dont' think so?
Sensation of incomplete evacuation after a bowel movement: Nope
Rectal pain: Nope
Age. About 90 percent of people diagnosed with colon cancer are older than 50: I'm 20.
A personal history of colorectal cancer or polyps: Not that I know of.
Inflammatory intestinal conditions: Nope
Inherited disorders that affect the colon: I might have hemmorides, thouh it usually doesn't cause a problem for me. Basiclly it's not active most of the time.
Family history of colon cancer and colon polyps: Only my grandma, nobody else even polyps. My parents who are over 50 both got colonoscapes, neither one of them had any polyps.
Diet. Colon cancer and rectal cancer may be associated with a diet low in fiber and high in fat and calories: Probably
A sedentary lifestyle: Yeah, but do try to get at least a little bit of exercise each day.
Diabetes: Nope
Obesity: I'm only 135 pounds
Smoking. I don't smoke
Alcohol: I don't drink
Growth hormone disorder: I don't think so.
Radiation therapy for cancer: I've never had cancer or anyone in my family except for my granda who was a smoker.

Is this true?

It seems that, for me, the biggest predictor of shape is the consistency of the poop. Really soft poops (which seem to be the norm for me) HAVE to be flatter. It comes down to simple physics -- the anal sphincter is not round, it's an oval. If you pass something soft and squishy through an oval, it will take the shape of the hole through which it is passing. Thus, soft poops will be oval/flattened. Now, I've also had a flatter harder poo as well -- but they've been smaller and I've sort of put them in the same category as the little pebble-like poo we all sometimes pass.

[northstar]

what you eat determines what your bowel movements will look like, they're gonna be different depending on what you've put into your system. i'd look into diet if i were you, if you're not taking care of what you eat then you increase your chances of colon cancer in the future e.g. lack of fibre. i'd tend to think the answer lies in diet, try sorting that out and see if it changes anything for you. i'm reading a book at the moment called the new optimum nutrition bible by patrick holford, it's packed full of information on how to take care of yourself so that cancers are less of a threat. he's also written a book called optimum nutrition for mental health which is next on my list :)

[Vicki]

I think you're just fine... but well done for booking the doctors appointment just to be sure!

[danj]

My first post here.

You really don't have colon cancer, I am 99.99% sure of that. Change in bowel movements could be down 99 other things (or nothing) which are 1000 times more common than cancer.

I have 10 years of anxiety experience, every few months I figure I have a tumor or some other terminal disease. I have managed to control the anxiety generally through therapy and medication but I have my relapses, one of which I am in the midst of.

Over the past 6 weeks I have become an expert in colon cancer because I have had diarrhea, abdominal pain and one time saw blood in the toilet bowl. I went to a colo-rectal consultant who said I'm probably OK (he found piles - probably the source of the blood) but recommended a colonscopy to be sure it's nothing more serious. Now I'm to scared to have the colonscopy (I have a fear of surgery of any kind) and am having high levels of anxiety worrying about having cancer...

[FunPie]

Well you virtually none of the symptoms and lifesytle risks. You should be having a bowel movement once a day. The only thing you have is that your stools are softer, which is common as we age. You pretty much answered your own questioin, you don't have colon cancer. Mild IBS at best.

If you went to the doctor telling him the symptoms above he won't even check you. If you had colon cancer you would know.

[Giz]

Seriously, the only thing that jumps out from what you are saying is that you should look at your diet if you are that worried..
The chances of you having this type of cancer is so slim youre a lot more likely to get struck by lightning!

If youre thinking about it, and youve said yourself, diet-wise youre probably heading in the wrong direction.. So invest in the book Northstar recommended and then once youre living it you need never worry about this particular problem (as well as a whole host of others) again!!

[joey9]

I think the fact that you are asking for help on an anxiety forum rather than a cancer forum or a bowel complaints forum speaks volumes. None of us are going to be able to tell you that you haven't got cancer. Only your doctor can do that. But you will find many people on here who can identify with your fear of health symptoms and maybe offer some help on how to minimise this fear and get on with your life.

[andrila]

Cancer Solution is a site promoting a new and alternative way of preventing and treating cancer. The procedure does not involve nay of the usual treatments like chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. It is a non-invasive technique. It is an e-book, available on-line. One can just log on to the site and get the book and take a peep at what it is all about. The book assures patients and friends and relatives of patients and people who are at risk of the disease due to family history, complete relief from every aspect of the disease.