Hello everyone,
so, in August it will be 4 years since my dad was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and operated, regular checkups and everything is fine.
But.... now mom.
The same age as my dad when he got his diagnosis, 70 years old, hemoccult 3x positive. By the way, it was done randomly, my mother had not had any special medical tests for 20 years and now when she went to get a new round of blood pressure pills, the doctor sent her for a blood test and hemoccult.
Of course, shock and immediate thought of the worst, everything that happened to my dad immediately flashed through my mind.
The mother's blood count is relatively normal:
Erythrocytes - 5.07 (ref. 3.86-5.08)
Hemoglobin - 143 (ref. 119-157)
Hematocrit - 0.438 (ref. 0.356-0.470)
MCHC - 326 (ref. 320-360)
MCV - 86.4 (ref. 83.0-97.2)
MCH - 28.2 (ref. 27.4-33.9)
Leukocytes - 7.0 (ref. 3.4-9.7)
MPV - 11.9 H (ref. 6.8-10.4)
RDW - 14,000 (ref. 9,000 - 15,000)
Platelets - 278 (ref. 158-424)
Bilirubin - 20.7 H (3.0-20.0)
Creatine - 55 (ref. 49-90)
Glucose - 6.16 (ref. 4.40-6.40)
AST - 25 (ref. 8-30)
ALT - 18 (ref. 10-36)
GGT - 19 (ref. 9-35)
However, I was investigating a bit, some values are borderline and suggest that the bleeding has been present for a longer time, although in smaller amounts.
Mom feels well, she has no pain in the abdomen, stomach, no changes in stool habits, but she very often took painkillers, for years, and even intensively before the hemoccult due to pain in the neck and spine. Otherwise, she has been overweight her whole life, which is why she avoided weighing herself and now it is quite difficult to determine whether she has lost any weight. I have the impression that something has, but it also coincided with a deliberate change in diet and now it is difficult to determine the cause.
Anyway, she's going for further tests next week, but the thought that something bad is the cause... we are just terrified.
It really hit me because of everything that happened with my dad, now mom.
Reading forums, calculating probabilites of possible cause... Just hoping that is some bleeding because of polyps or some effect of painkillers. Just can't accept that it might be something dangerous.
Regarding blood results, how likely is it that this is even something in advanced stage?
Hi davor and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community, and although I've not had the same tests as your mom I know how scared you're probably feeling right now.
The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the bowel cancer group as you'll then connect directly with others who are going through the same tests as your mom.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It's great that your dad is now fine and hopefully your mom will be too.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi davor and welcome to the community.
I can appreciate that you are worried about your mum’s test results, especially given the situation with your dad.
I wondered from the words you’ve used if you are in the UK? Here in the UK our testing for occult blood in stool is called a FIT test, and is a test kit which is issued automatically to registered patients every 2 years from the age of 50 to 74, but you say your mother has not had any medical tests for 20 years.
In the community we are all either cancer patients or carers for loved ones with cancer, and not medical professionals, so unfortunately none of us would be in a position to interpret the results you have posted or give any opinion as to what they might mean.
You would be welcome to look round the various support groups in the community, but even in the bowel cancer group it would not be possible for any member to give you an opinion on the results or any kind of guidance towards a diagnosis.
I hope that you can get some reassurance when your mum has further testing, and the results do not result in a cancer diagnosis.
Sarah xx
It’s absolutely not a problem that you are not in the UK and you are very welcome here, but I just wanted you to be aware that Macmillan is a UK based charity.
You may find some terminology different-like having FIT tests for occult blood-and with our FIT testing, it gives a single number just indicating the presence of blood in the stool but not the reason for it. It’s just a screening test.
Members in the UK may not be familiar with the term “hemoccult test” and our tests here do not provide the same detail of results as your mum has had. A positive FIT test, depending on the result, would normally be followed by a colonoscopy if the result were above a certain level.
In my experience, the kinds of results you have quoted, for example for bilirubin and ALT, come from blood tests. My bilirubin result was at one point 65, and my ALT was 236, but these results were not connected to any kind of cancer diagnosis.
It would perhaps be helpful for the bowel group members if you mention that you are not in the UK, as advice may differ depending on country.
Sarah xx
