Suspected Cancer

[awayhay]

I went to the Dr’s with my Mum last week. She’s been unwell with a number of things.

The Dr felt her tummy and said he was concerned she had bowel cancer.

Would a Dr normally say this outright if they didn’t have a strong suspicion that it was cancer, or are they always that upfront even if there’s only a small chance?

He said it straight after feeling her tummy, but didn’t mention a lump or anything. Would they normally tell you if they’ve felt something?

Appreciate I can’t work out whether she has it from this, but just wondered How a Dr would normally react.

Thank

I'm not a medical expert but it does seem an odd thing to say - a feel of her stomach may have indicated some sort of swelling or blockage, which obviously would need to be investigated urgently, and the quickest way to do that is probably to put her on the 2WW cancer pathway, but there's no way they could be confident it was cancer. Even if it was a growth of some sort it could be benign.

Did they take any bloods ?

What symptoms concerned her enough to go to the doctors ?

@P00hsticksthank you!
She had bloods taken yesterday & I think will have the results at her Doc appointment Thursday.

She has totally lost the plot mentally (memory is terrible and really bad confusion. She’s acting v odd). She’d also lost a lot of weight (she hasn’t been eating).

I took her there for her memory issues, but came out with suspected cancer.

She told the Doc she had bowel issues (alternating between diarrhoea & constipation). This was news to all of us. My Dad said that was years ago, so I’m not sure if she was getting confused with her times and dates again. She also said she wasn’t eating because she doesn’t have an appetite. So he put those things together, felt her tummy and then said he was concerned about bowel cancer. He thought the memory issues could be linked. X

My husband recently went through a health scare where everything seemed to be a red flag for cancer: weight loss, pain in pelvis/abdomen, extreme fatigue, change in bladder/bowel movements, Dr felt tummy and said he could feel a mass. All tests and scans came back as normal and they put it down to his body getting over a severe bout of food poisoning from months before.

What you’ve described sounds very scary but I don’t think a GP can diagnose bowel cancer from just one examination. Hopefully the results from the tests will bring clarity.

My DD experienced something similar with a breast lump. The GP felt the lump, said she was concerned and would send an urgent referral to the BCC which would be looking for breast cancer. No cancer found.

It was clumsy of the GP who should have stated the range of possibilities, not just the one he was guessing at.

In the past medical professionals have been criticised for not being transparent. Often patients are referred when cancer is suspected but if they are unaware that it is suspected and their symptoms improve ( often happens) they may fail to attend. This can result in delayed diagnosis and poorer outcomes.

It’s really important that patients are made aware of differential diagnosis so that they attend appointments, particularly the elderly who are prone to “ not wanting to waste doctor’s time”.

Whether it’s cancer or not it is better to rule it out rather than head off down the dementia route aimlessly. It’s not easy to hear but at least your GP hasn’t resigned your DM to the dementia tray without fully investigated all possible causes.

The red flag is weight loss and loss of appetite. Blood tests may reveal anaemia which suggests chronic blood loss. My DHs grandmother ignored the signs and wash rushed into hospital with an obstructed bowel. They gave her a 50:50 chance of survival after surgery, she was 86. She made an incredible recovery, even continued driving for another couple of years and continued to have an active life for another 10yrs. My MIL was diagnosed 12 yrs ago, again has continued to live a good life but at 87 is starting to fade, she has had a number of TIAs, not related to her cancer.

Rather than panicking, make sure she attends appointments and advocate for her. Whatever the outcome it’s far better to know that everything possible is being done to either treat her or make her comfortable. Dementia complicated things because patients find it difficult communicating there symptoms, particularly pain and its location. With a diagnosis the medical team can ensure that she’s not suffering.

Thanks all :)