Colorectal cancer fear

[ericman25]

Hi guys !

I'm a 23 years old guy with cardiac issues since i'm born. My aortic heart valve have been change for a mecanical one and I'm taking Warfarin (blood thinner).

Since a week, I'm having major anxiety related to colorectal cancer risks. It began when I found blood on the toilet paper after a hard stool. I was scared so, I went to the Emergency to see a GP. They made blood test, urine test and rectal examination and all was fine. It's hemorrhoids they said.

The problem is that i'm still scared by this situation. I'm overthinking and I believe my GP missed something important. My stool are now softer since I went to the emergency. So I'm even more scared.

I don't know how to reverse the loop. I'm tired of being afraid of this. I feel stupid and I think my hypocondria is aggraving the situation even more.

Thank you.

 

[Footballmadness2019]

Hello there i worry about my stools 24/7 at the moment mine are really loose. Anxiety can cause your stomach to either slow down your digestion or speed it up. A blood test is carried out too look for Anaemia which indicates bleeding somewhere in the body and a finger up there i have also have had which isn't the most pleasant feeling but a doctor feels your anus and bowl when doing this to look for inflammation or a lump he has said there is haemorrhoids which will go away in time. The best thing to break the loop is too trust the doctors and tests that are carried out it's harder said than done i worry all the time but tests prove everything. the chances of having cancer at 23 is rare incredibly rare try to relax

 

[AbeLinkedIn]

I was at one point afraid of colorectal cancer, and I'm not much older than you (26). We're still young, colon cancer should be the least of our concerns. Sure the odd case happens but it's way more common with older people and even still, red blood is more to do with a hemorrhoid than anything. You mentioned hard stools and straining can lead to hemorrhoids and one of them could easily bleed if you strain hard enough.

Try to think in percentages, you have a much higher likelihood of hemorrhoids than colon cancer since even in talking about the most common age group, it's uncommon. More likely at an older age but still rare. Hemorrhoids suck for more reasons than one but they're not a cause for alarm, just uncomfortable.

 

[matisworried]

i'm assuming the blood you saw was red. you also mentioned your stool was hard. the only thing you need to worry about is drinking more water and maybe adding a fiber supplement to your diet. red blood is rarely anything to be concerned about - almost always hemorrhoids or a small, superficial tear caused by strain/large or dry stool. doctors are much more concerned when your stool is black and tarry which i'm guessing it was not.

add to the fact that you're about 30 years too young to even begin worrying about that and i think you're pretty safe not worrying about it.