Dp potential bowel cancer - need a hand hold please

[Mortified1994]

Hi all sorry if a long post

My DP has been referred for a fit test and blood tests. He is 40 years old and in good health apart from the below:

about 6 months ago he went on a stag do and had a bad bout of a stomach bug. Went to the docs as it was awful (9-10 times a day) then it subsided. Only issue is since then he has had watery stools every morning. No other time in the day.

I asked him if there was blood, he said no. But after a while he said there has been blood in the last month or so. He showed me and it’s bright red blood and differs from being on the paper only with no stool or mixed in the paper when wiping but you can’t tell if it’s just mixed if that makes sense.

i persuaded him to go to the doctors today and when we mentioned blood in stool the docs face dropped. He hasn’t put him on a two week pathway.

he hasn’t lost weight, isn’t out of breath and in good health. Gets up at 6am and has a very physical job.

can someone give me any positive stories please ? I Absoloutely adore him and we want to start a family soon and I couldn’t imagine being without him. I have awful anxiety and maybe this is making me worse.

tia xx

Have they asked him to do a faecal calprotectin test? I’d want that done too. It measures inflammation in the bowel.

Honestly, to me, this sounds more obviously like inflammatory bowel disease or another sort of gut condition brought on by lifestyle and possibly stress than cancer. Does he drink? How does drinking impact it? The fact it came on during a stag do leads me to believe drinking is probably a trigger. Any particular foods that cause issues? Fatty foods or high fibre foods?

I have cancer (not bowel), but several years ago, I was diagnosed with something called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. It also came on during a boozy holiday and was irritated by alcohol and chronic stress and certain foods. For me, I think it was too much alcohol and just an unhealthy lifestyle that brought it on. I also went through all the tests. It’s a faecal elastase test (different and more specific than the calprotectin above) that can diagnose the pancreas issues, but the calprotectin will go a ways towards exploring what inflammation there is.

They actually thought I had blood cancer because of my inflammatory markers, but I was just my pancreas and bowels being inflamed. I take medicine every day for my pancreas and made lifestyle changes, and I’d say I’m 95% better now. There was a time I was going to the toilet probably 10 times a day for months. It wasn’t cancer though, and it’s totally manageable.

Thank you so much for your reply. I think they have yes.

Yes he does drink. Not daily but he has quite a high tolerance to alcohol.

Nothing triggers it id say. It’s bad in the morning though. Rarely if ever throughout the day.

His diet isn’t the best. Particularly before he met me. But now I cook a lot of fresh healthy food.

I hope you are okay now too 💙

Blood in stools can be other conditions such as piles, colitis, diverticulitis, chrons, IBS or cancer, so please try not to worry until you have a diagnosis. My late father in law was fobbed off by GP for over a year, he was 65 and when he finally got tests, he was stage 4 bowel cancer and had to be operated on urgently, followed by radiation treatment for 6 months later. He lived until he was 87. My DH had tests for similar, after colonoscopy he was diagnosed with colitis and diverticulitis and is so much better with the right medication.

I can give you two positives.

One is that as a PP says there are multiple causes for blood in stools that aren't cancer - 9 out of 10 positive FIT tests apparently turn out to be something else.

The second positive is that even if it does turn out to be cancer, bowel cancer is generally slow growing and eminently treatable if caught early. I've had Stage 2 bowel cancer successfully treated via surgery with no longer term after effects.

But the initial waiting to find out what is the cause and then how it;s going to be treated is excruciating, so have a handhold from me.

Thanks so much everyone. Just took the sample in this morning. Can I ask if any of your experiences in cancer caused bright red blood and loose stools? They are the only symptoms. He did lose weight after his initial bug (about a stone) but has since put it on and has no other symptoms x

In father in laws case the blood was dark red/brown, but his cancer was very advanced.

In DH’s case, he has all sorts of problems, bright red blood, constipation, bloating, diarrhoea.

Thank you all for your replies. I hope all is well with you now and I will keep you updated x

in my case I had no symptoms at all - no noticeable bleeding or change in bowel habits - but a routine bowels screening FIT test flagged up as further investgation needed, and the reulting colonscopy revealed a very obvious tumour.

Thank you. I hope you’re ok now. I’m just hoping due to his age etc no weight loss or pain it’s something benign. I’m besides myself imagine him being unwell x

Has the GP ordered any tests? A stool test for Faecal Calprotectin, FIT etc? Any bloods? I'm guessing he's on the two week pathway for a colonoscopy? Hopefully this all goes well. He could have IBD, it tends to have some more symptoms but also something they'll be looking at.

Yes his stool sample this morning bloods next week. No 2 week pathway as he has no pain currently and no family history. I’m just praying. It’s such a anxious wait x

He didn’t physically examine him either which I thought was odd. But my partner is such a ‘bloke’ he may have asked to and he said no it’s fine mate! It was hell trying to get him to go at all x

Sending love, it's really hard not to worry when you have no clue at the moment. That's good with the bloods and the faecal tests, which should see about his calprotectin and also FIT. Hopefully, that provides some clarity.

Normally, for calprotectin, anything between 100-250 gets further investigation, and then anything quite high gets an urgent gastrology referral. FIT will help if he needs to get a colonoscopy as well down the line, but there is no need to worry about that for now.

Is the pain quite bad? Or resolved with paracetamol? Just if it is maybe ask GP if they could prescribe some temporary meds to help?

Sometimes they physically examine but not much to reveal, I mean maybe to check the abdomen to feel anything and rule something out, but if he doesn't feel anything then it's likely okay.

Thank you hun. He’s not in any pain at all. Said it stings when passing stool. He’s not lost weight either. It’s just the blood/stools in morning. I’m going on a girls holiday next week so I’m dreading him having to go without me. X

Well the tests should come back soon, so maybe have a look at those, likely on the NHS app etc. Especially the calprotectin and FIT. The girls trip might be a good way to not think about it, maybe find out if the results are back before you go, or wait till you come back. Do give us an uodate when they come back, hopefully they rule out/in some things, and help with the diagnostic process. If he has major changes before his GP appointment (does he have one booked?). Make sure to check in with them and let them know.

It's hard being the support person, and you should still look after yourself, and have fun, so try and do that. Easier said than done.