FIT Results

Hello Eichaleen

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the online community. My name is Karen and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.  

 I can see that you’ve joined the Macmillan bowel cancer forum, I hope you find this supportive. You mention that you’ve had iron deficiency anaemia and had many blood transfusions over the past year. You have had investigations for this and endoscopies/colonoscopies have shown old ulcers and polyps.

FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) is a test that looks for blood in a sample of your poo. A positive FIT result is a reading of greater than 10, and requires further investigations, such as colonoscopy and other scans to identify the cause.

Blood in your poo can be caused by many medical conditions and doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer. Polyps in the bowel (are usually benign non-cancerous) and stomach ulcers could be a cause of blood in your poo. But if it is cancer, finding it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to work.

You mention that you have had an MRI scan and are waiting for the results and are seeing a gastroenterologist next month. Going for tests and waiting for results can be an uncertain time and feeling anxious can be a natural reaction to this.

Finding ways to help you cope may help you to manage these feelings. You might find it helpful to give us a call and chat to one of the nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, the Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial, and emotional support and information.

Best wishes

Karen, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Ref/Khe/SM