3 days until colonoscopy- positive FIT and anaemia, but with not many bowel symptoms is it likely to be all clear?

[Blownupblowndown]

Female 43
diagnosed Hasimotos hypothyroidism around 2017 but no other diagnosis.

To begin I have to inform you that I have NOT been diagnosed with Colorectal cancer or any other cancer. And I’m like 90% sure I wont be diagnosed with it… and that is the reason for my question to you guys.

So I have been unwell for around 17 months now. I felt absolutely fine before that. Always been active and energetic, working 50-60 hours a week and up for most things.

Got unwell. Although I have felt progressively worse in all this time, it hasn’t been a huge huge difference. Some of the symptoms relate to the GI tract but many don’t - especially at the beginning.

Had Blood tests and they pointed to anemia, eventually took a FIT test recently and it came back positive so now booked for endoscopy and colonoscopy in 3 days time.

But, I really don’t think it can be too sinister.
If this is CRC, wouldn’t I be seriously unwell by now, almost a year and a half after first getting sick.
Also, most of my symptoms at the beginning of feeling unwell were in no way linked to GI tract problems.
Does anyone else know anyone who has had the same sort of experience and ended up getting the all clear?

The dr I spoke to sounded worried about the possibility that the scope will show something. On the phone call to inform me I was being placed on the 2ww path for a colonoscopy, she even signed off ‘good luck Blownupblowndown’. Which I thought was a really odd way of signing off that sort of phone call!

I am not an anxious person. I don’t have health anxiety. I don’t even care what this is now- I just want to know! I’ve been unwell for so long now and I’m really fed up!

I don’t want this post to appear as someone who is fishing for attention, it really isn’t. I’m simply stating facts and asking out of curiosity.

About 5 years ago I had anemia and a positive FIT test and was sent for endoscopy and colonoscopy. I wasn’t really unwell though, just tired from the anemia. They found 2 small polyps that were tiny and removed them, said they wouldn’t have been the cause of bleeding and everything else was fine. So a positive FIT test doesn’t have to be cancer at all and often isn’t.

There are several things that can give a positive FIT result that aren’t cancer. And several causes for anaemia that aren’t cancer too.

When I had colorectal cancer I hadn't been feeling unwell at all apart from fatigue. I don't think you can draw any conclusions from your symptoms or lack of symptoms - they need to do the scan because that's the only way to find out, but there's lots of things other than cancer that they could find. Trust the process, if they find cancer it's very treatable and you'll make a full recovery after treatment. If it's not then it will be something else that they know how to treat.

The good news - 90% of positive FIT results aren't due to cancer.

BUT - You can't rely on the fact that you have no symptoms.

I speak from experience as I only found out I had bowel cancer after a positive FIT from a routine bowel screening test - I felt perfectly well and had no symptoms. I had surgery to remove the part of my bowel with the tumour and rejoin the ends (a left hemicolonectomy with resection) and two years on am all clear

Thanks for your responses guys.
As I said, I’m 90% sure I won’t have anything sinister come up on Wednesday (not sure if I said but they are doing a Gastroscopy at the same time). My symptoms just don’t seem to follow the pattern that most CRC sufferers have had. For instance, one of the very first symptoms that popped up alongside the fatigue is swollen lymph nodes in my neck! A total of 4 popped up over the course of 4 months - 3 on one side and the final one popped up on the other side. They are still there! Lymph nodes in the neck do not swell due to anything wrong in the GI tract???!!

@Blownupblowndown How did things go on Wednesday ? Hope all is well...

Thanks for asking.
The top scope (Gastroscopy) found a small hiatus hernia and non-erosive gastritis - both of which they said would not have caused the blood or the symptoms I’ve been having.
Sadly, the colonoscopy couldn’t be completed - it only made it about a third of the way round. They said the prep failed. So I have to have a CT scan- virtual colonoscopy apparently. This has been booked for next Wednesday.
I’m gutted the prep failed - it was the worst experience of my life. The pain was immense! And I felt so ill with it too. The scope itself really hurt too so am pleased that I don’t have to go through that again. I’m more gutted because I know they won’t look at any other possibilities until they’ve ruled my whole GI tract out, so this is just delaying it even more.

I'm so sorry to hear that - the prep is awful (for me, far worse than the actual colonoscopy itself) and so it's a shame to have gone through all that and not had a successful procedure.

Exactly my thoughts! The prep is way worse than the actual procedure. Although- I actually had quite a lot of pain with the scope even with full sedation. So painful. I still have to prep for the CT but it is nothing compared to the scope.