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, and 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? Does anyone have experience with similar situation (occult bleeding but rather normal blood screen results?
