Why test for cancer when only symptom is weight loss an anxiety

It is not unexplained.She was suffering anxiety and lost her appetite.She has put on 2lb this week!

She wants it and no doubt if that is clear she will want a liver scan and so on
.When anxious people keep going to the doctor then they get tested for all sorts of things and it makes them even more anxious

Well, do you think they should be refused? I don't know what the answer is, except that a doctor would be condemned if it turned out that there was a health problem.

I really can't comment on what doctors should do.He was only 4 months into being a GP.An older one who knew her might have made a different decision
It is agony to be a hypochondriac

My DH had no symptoms whatsoever apart from weight loss. He was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and lived just a year after diagnosis.

I hope your friend has nothing wrong but better safe than sorry, and if the outcome is good surely that will allay her anxiety?

I am not sure what your point is katewrites
Most people would be glad of tests to rule out life threatening diseases or indeed to diagnose them early enough to take action.
You seem to have no confidence in this GP (what do you mean, “only 4 months” - he is a fully qualified doctor and perhaps more on the ball than one approaching retirement)
It seems a doctor is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
Your fears about the preparation for colonoscopies are entirely unfounded, they clean you out so that the doctor gets a clear view of the gut. Other than possible flatulence afterwards there are no ongoing side effects. I should know, my DH had annual colonoscopies throughout his 50’s and 60’s because he had an increased risk of bowel cancer.
Tests are not the problem, they are there to diagnose the problem.
You say you can’t comment on what the GP should do and yet your whole thread has been questioning the doctor’s judgement and now you say your friend is a hypochondriac.
Hypochondriacs can get ill too!

Ironically people who do actually have symptom seem to be seen less quickly in London.She is in the country

Your justification for this generalisation is ???

It is agony to be a hypochondriac It is not much fun being someone whose illness wasn't diagnosed until too late to cure it, because the tests were missed out to spare them a bit of worry.

If your friend has been sent for a colonoscopy, it is because what she has reported to the GP, or what he has observed, could indicate that something is wrong. She was anxious enough about her health to consult him/her. Now she is receiving tests to see what is wrong or whether it is "just" anxiety, and if necessary treatment can start. She could have stayed away from the doc and gone on worrying, but that would not have resolved anything.

Are you beefing about the GP for doing his job, or about her for being too quick to think she is ill?

Have read the link from Katewrites with interest as I have just had a colonoscopy, and am glad I didn't see it before. I note it is an American study which says that colonoscopy is risky and often unnecessary in the elderly as colon cancer is slow growing! Knowing friends whose lives have been saved by such a procedure I don't agree. I also think we cannot compare UK to America where undoubtedly many unnecessary procedures are carried out as health care is mainly financed by insurance. For anyone who will have to undergo this procedure I think the benefits far outweigh the risks and the consultant who did mine said that he had been doing them for 8 years and had never perforated a bowel.

There are several other ways to check for bowel cancer like virtual colonoscopy.My sister in law recently had a colonoscopy and will never have another as she has diverticulosis which makes the pain worse
The point here seems to be the lady has been suffering from anxiety and depression but appears not to have been treated for that.She was ill for a while with UTI's and lost her appetite.She has begun to regain weight so the writer says.For someone with severe anxiety having lots of tesths could cause a breakdown.But none of us know exactly what took place in the surgery.She may have begged for one and the doctors got fed up with her visits and caved in.
I agree with everyone it is wonderful to see in a case like this that the NHS is so fantastic at doing the tests quickly although colon cancer is very slow growing in older people
It seems there are 2 aspects.Should doctors send someone for a test when there are no symptoms of that disease? There is a faint chance they may find something but that could be true of any of us.I have lost a lot of weight since bereavement but I not think it is cancer.It is grief and loss of appetite
Secondly should a doctor seeing someone with an anxiety disorder ask if they are able to eat as if I am anxious I can't eat.
On balance maybe a check is wise but there is a disorder where people can be so clever and anxious they get lots of procedures as they can fool the doctors.The one advantage of health anxiety is that now and then the doctor doe.s find something wrong but not what the patient thought!The newspapers are full of health issues especially the Mail so I have been asked by neighbours do I think they have this or that and I say, reading the Mail again? The Telegraph is also like that.Anyway this person's test will soon be over and then she will know one way or the other. I know the constant talk of good diets when poor people can't afford five a day makes lots of people very anxious.And anxiety can wreck your life
A very interesting discussion.

Heart failure causes weight loss when it is severs

Kate Your post surprises me. I have never heard of anyone getiing diarrhea or constipation for weeks, from taking a pre colonoscopy liquid. These tales are spread around to frighten others off what is in fact ,an unpleasant but worthwhile examination.

Considering we are all Grans then we have gone through childbirth and put that behind us, we should be up to facing a few examinations.

A relative of mine now has to have anaesthesia for a colonoscopy.She did have cancer so has to have a colonoscopy annually.She definitely has to have it and mever complains

It is common for depression to make people think they have cancer.I know one case where a man commited suicide for this reason.The doctors said he was ok after the tests but he did not believe them.So he drowned himself