Pre-diagnosis worry

Hi woody, 

You are bound to be anxious - I think that is quite normal. 
This forum is very helpful and supportive so you are in the right place. There are supporters on here too that can signpost you to appropriate forums & articles. hopefully this reply will bump your question back to the top 

Good luck and try and keep yourself busy before your colonoscopy 

Bx 

Hi Woody79 Of course it’s normal to worry but at the same time you’re worrying about something that is not a fact? Try to avoid google as it can take you down a lot of rabbit holes and make you feel confused and panicky - try to keep busy and distracted until your colonoscopy.

The stats are that 1 in 10 colonoscopies results in a bowel cancer diagnosis. The blood in your stool could be caused by polyps, ibs, colitis, diverticulitis or haemorrhoids. After the colonoscopy someone will have a chat with you about what they’ve found. If they’ve found any polyps then they may be removed or a sample taken and sent off for testing. I was told there and then that, from their experience, they were 99% sure it was cancer. 

If, and it’s an if at this point, it is bowel cancer then you’ll have a flurry of scans and meetings and a treatment plan will be decided on. Bowel cancer is slow growing and very treatable - I was diagnosed in 2016 and I’m still ‘no evidence of disease’. 

Hope the next 2 weeks pass quickly and please let us know how you get on?

Take care

Karen x

Hi Woody, 

I'm in exactly the same boat as you, my colonoscopy is tomorrow and I've done the same as you, worried, stressed and Googled. I have even gone radio silent on a friend who kept dismissing my concerns (saying my bloods are just cholesterol and that she'd be 'really really surprised if it’s anything like what your heads imagining!')

It doesn't help or alleviate our worries, just makes us feel dimissed, our concerns are totally valid concerns and we are allowed to worry about the worst case scenario, it's our body!

I know it's hard but try not to give yourself a hard time for worrying about it, it's normal. We all do it and sometimes it's a good thing because then the news is often good news. 

Try and keep yourself distracted whilst you wait for the appointment date and good luck!

Hi littlemunchkin thank you for your reply you are right it does make you feel dismissed I hope you also have some support! Hope your colonoscopy goes well tomorrow and you get some answers. 

Just wondered how your colonoscopy went?

Had my colonoscopy today, they removed a large 35mm polyp so that will now go for testing. Hopefully will be clear

Hi Woody, 

Sorry for the delay, life just got on top of me! 

So my colonoscopy showed no sign of the C, diverticula scattered throughout the colon but no signs of inflammation. My doctor has basically said it's Diverticulitis so to change my diet. I'm not entirely sure this is the correct diagnosis as all the forums says Diverticula itself doesn't cause issues unless inflamed/infected which it wasn't but she's adamant and doesn't want to do any further testing (haven't even had a stool test!) so not sure where to go from here to be honest. 

I hope your colonoscopy experience was as smooth as possible, sending wishes that the results of the polyp come back ASAP and are all clear. The waiting is the worst bit isn't it

Great news it’s not C however doesn’t seem like you have a full answer does it sorry to hear that. 
it was thanks. And yes the waiting really is hard