# If it were colon cancer would symptoms go away?



## Guest (May 11, 2001)

Sorry, too to hog the board too but I'm a little confused. If my symptoms were from colon cancer, wouldn't I continue to get worse and feel sicker??


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Generally yes.And you would likely have a pretty advanced case of cancer before you experienced any symptoms of it.Colon cancer is a silent killer becuase most of the time by the time you have symptoms, you are at the end stages of the disease and it is very difficult to treat. This is why colonoscopies for people over 50 (it is very rare in people under 50) are important screening tools as you otherwise would never know that something is wrong.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Yes it would. The thing about IBS and I don't know your history, is you are diagnosed and usally have follow ups within six months to a year. If it was an organic problem it would probaly get worse by that time. One of the reasons IBS diagnoses are pretty accurate with an 80 percent accuarate diagnoses rate before colonoscopy, which puts it close to 98 percent accuracy. Also organic problems may have different symptoms, blood in the stool,pain at night and others which would point more to an organic problem and not IBS.------------------Moderator of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anxiety and Hypnotherapy forumI work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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## SaraCC (Apr 24, 2001)

I am also afraid of colon cancer. I'm a 21 year old female and was told I have IBS in October of 2000. My symptoms occur more frequently and have changed a bit over the months. I now get loose stools more often, bad gas, and a dull stomach ache. I used to have more urgency. The abdominal pain has remained constant. I am supposed to meet with my doctor tomorrow to discuss a scope being done.


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## TaniaF (Jan 23, 2001)

Since I don't do well with sedatives, a colonoscopy has not been done, but an abdominal CT scan instead. Would this show colon cancer?


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## LouiseM (Jun 30, 2000)

I pulled out my good old Merck Manual, it pretty much states that "the person usually feels no pain itself unless it spreads to tissue outside the rectum." A fever, bleeding, loss of weight. I STRONGLY suggest getting a colonoscopy. I too never had any testing done, intill I was really encoraged to do so by this board. I feel so much better, like a weight has been lifted. Take care!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

CT scans are routinely used to see tumors/find cancers. The disadvantage is that with a colonoscopy you are already in place to take a biopsy. With CT if they see something they would then have to do a colonoscopy or other invasive proceedure to biopsy the tissue.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Rose (Mar 25, 1999)

My father-in-law is a colon cancer survivor. He was diagnosed in 1982 and 19 years later is still alive and going strong.







. His one and only symptom, which prompted him to see the doctor was blood in his stool. He has a colostomy, but does not wear a bag. He elimates his waste a few times a week by a process called irrigation. Also, my daughter's father-in-law is a colon caner survivor. He was diagnosed in 1995. Blood in his stool is also what prompted him to go to the doctor. He was luckier than my father in law in that his cancer was confined to an area, which was first shrunk by radiation, then the cancerous growth was removed, but his colon was able to be re-attached so he can have normal rectal bowel movements. ------------------"Remember To Stop and Smell the Roses"Rose (C-type)


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

Yes, I understand that sometimes the symptoms for cc can be subtle. My grandmother had it twice, surviving both times; the first time (back when colonoscopies weren't done very much) the doctor caught it just by feeling a lump but, still, they managed to resection her. A friend's husband had cc (that was found almost by accident) and so did his brother at the same time; he survived just fine, but his brother didn't. My father and I, however, luckily, had some symptoms while just in the precancerous (adenoma) stage: change in bowel habits and nausea/fatigue, primarily. It is quite common for other people to have blood (esp. if the polyps have grown large). I also had been losing chunks of weight, though I actually attribute that mostly to other factors. My then-doctor played it by the book, telling me for months that I simply didn't have symptoms that justified a colonoscopy or even sigmoidoscopy - I figured, since I was several years under 50 and also since blood wasn't found in an earlier screening. He finally got scared, though, as I continued to lose more weight (even though, again, I attribute that to other stuff) and so gave me a sigmoidoscopy - lucky for me! Really. I guess it is far more common for people above 50 to get cc than people younger. (But I find it terrible that my doctor waited so long to give me the proper procedure based on that black-and-white reasoning!) Some much younger people can get cc as well, but from what I understand, that is rare - and there usually is a strong family history of others getting cc early.Long-winded answer, but the symptoms of IBS and cc may be somewhat similar, not to scare anyone. I am thinking, though, that with cc alone, there is probably not as much pain as with your typical case of IBS. If you seem to be in a holding pattern, I seriously doubt you'd have cc; but if things were to get progressively worse, it would be good to get a good ol' colonscopy, just to play it safe (though, again, a really young person probably wouldn't have cc).


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