Hello all,
First off, let me say what a great and supportive forum this is; the advice and general friendship offered is amazing. My aunt was a Macmillan nurse and it's an organization that does wonderful work.
A bit about me: I'm a Brit, living in Texas. Healthcare works very differently here (often not in a good way), and there is much less in the way of standardized treatment pathways and protocols, as well as centralized record keeping. All of this is to say: six years ago -- I'm now 49; I was then 43 -- I went for an annual physical with a new doctor. Unusually, she did an occult fecal bleed test (think this is called a FIT test in the UK), and although I never got the number for it, I was referred straight away for a colonoscopy. I assumed it must have been out of an abundance of caution, and as there's much more in the way of 'surgery' type stuff performed in the US, I barely gave it any thought. The upshot was: one large (10mm) flat polyp found in the transverse colon, near the hepatic flexure, removed by hot snare. I didn't ever get to see the histology. To the best of my recollection, I eventually got told by the GI's office -- not the GI himself -- that all was good, and I could come back at 50 for a repeat (that's when screening used to start in the US; it's now a bit earlier).
So that, I thought, was that. Anyway, fast forwards to this spring. I started having some health stuff going on, which included quite a lot of unintentional weight loss, and after a spell of going around the houses with my current PCP (GP), I got referred for another colonoscopy. The records system is not joined up here at all, and so the onus is on the patient to keep track of all diagnoses and procedures. This meant my current PCP just took my word for it that I could go back at 50 for another screening. I got in with the GI doctor I was referred to this time pretty quickly as a result of a cancelation. He immediately told me I was well overdue for another colonoscopy on the basis of the report I did have from the original procedure, which made no mention of histology. He also mentioned he had managed to get histology from the prior colonoscopy before our appointment; I should have asked what this was, but I'm assuming size and location actually means that the polyp should have been classed as precancerous and that the original office may have been confused.
I'm pretty concerned, I must say. I have a family history of bowel cancer -- my mum died recently of liver cancer, which I have a hunch had metastasized from bowel (she wasn't a very truthful person and we had a difficult relationship). Her father also died from bowel cancer, and other relatives have had it, too. I have been having bowel issues on and off for months -- constipation, and feeling like I can't empty my bowels fully; occasional diarrhea -- and the weight loss is also concerning. I don't have much appetite and I get full quickly, too. I also have a weird achy feeling under my left ribs, and periodic cramping (sometimes very painful) in the left lower abdomen. I'm having the colonoscopy next week (they'll also do an endoscope as my son has just been diagnosed as celiac), so I don't have long to wait, but I guess I just wanted somewhere to talk about my worries.
Thanks for listening.
