Bowel Cancer Screening Test positive

I have to have it done every 5 years due to family history ( almost every death of relatives who has died is due to bowel cancer )
Honestly , the procedure itself is a
breeze if you have the light sedation it's the actual bowel prep that is more of an inconvenience with having to have a bland diet , and then the no food & strong laxative to clean you out.

I followed different advice and had the clear out drink along side a glass of water just sipping a little at a time. If you drink if fast you may be very sick then it will have not done the job it is meant to .

i thought i had ibs, gone to hospital to find out what could be done, it had got to the stage that i had to starve myself for 2 days just to leave the house. they did a scan and then a colonosopy and fond a tumor in my bowel, they snipped a bit and tested it, found it was positive, i had a fear of going into hospital, the surgeon was very straight with me, have the op or don't, he was not going to loose any sleep over it (exact words) and if i don't, he said i had about 6 months, i had the op 4 weeks later and came home after 4 days, it took me a bit longer to heal as i got an infection in the wound but they said it was rare, it has been 5 years to the day and i am still hear, i have been left with problems as i only have half of my bowel left and need to use a lot of loperamide tablets. my brother did a postal poo test and they found something and because of me he got it checked, not cancer but he had diverticulitis. my grandson was born the day after my op, it was so worth it as he is a joy to be around, please don't worry and explain to the nurses and doctors how nervous you are. hugs and good luck.

Sorry I’m not commenting or replying on your posts. I’m struggling a little at the moment. My blood pressure has really shot up and am waiting for GP to ring me with advice.

I do appreciate that everyone has taken the time to reply

My OH had a recall last October, he had to go for a colonoscopy, fortunately just a 2 week wait, they removed some large polyps (apparently one was 2cm long) we did worry throughout the week we had to wait for the results but, thankfully, he was given the all clear. Fingers crossed all will be fine.

I had a positive test for bowel cancer and had a colonoscopy. I do understand your anxiety, but the wait is not not too long. I waited a similar time. They found no polyps or tumours. They did however find I had diverticulosis. I was given advice on a high fibre diet etc. I was happy to get this news as I had a lot of digestive issues, now under control with diet. My brother had the same experience. The only bit if the process I didn't like was the laxative you have to take beforehand.

My 33 year old daughter had a positive test after passing quite a lot of blood. She too has IBS (like me) but quite mild. She had an urgent colonoscopy as cases of young people with bowel cancer are in the up. Was worried sick but it came back negative, thank God. I don’t think I could have coped so well with that, having myself been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and starting treatment soon. My very best wishes to you and try not to worry although it’s easier said than done. Many early stage cancers, which include bowel and breast cancer are very treatable. I live each day with the hope that my prognosis will be good.

HappyAmI I had the same results as you, but I don’t have to have another colonoscopy. They’ve just returned me to the testing scheduled. Must be something to do with different LA ?

Well the GP just rang and said not to worry about the blood pressure, despite how high it is, as it’s undoubtedly caused by the stress.

She also advised not to have a private consultation/colonoscopy as I may fall between two systems and something may get missed.

I’m so anxious and don’t know how I’ll get through the next couple of weeks l

My test came back as positive last year so a colonoscopy was scheduled which became available quite quickly. Fortunately there was nothing found after a thorough investigation. I also suffered from really bad IBSD for quite a few years which caused bleeding in the bowel. Can I just add that I gave up lots of various foods to try and solve the problem but nothing worked. I could hardly leave the house because when I needed to go I couldn't stop it from happening. It was an horrendous time. Fortunately I discovered by accident that the culprit was actually coffee. I'm back to a very healthy diet now and I've been free of bowel problems for 6 months now. I just hope this will maybe help someone else with the same problem.....

Sillyoldbird

Well the GP just rang and said not to worry about the blood pressure, despite how high it is, as it’s undoubtedly caused by the stress.

She also advised not to have a private consultation/colonoscopy as I may fall between two systems and something may get missed.

I’m so anxious and don’t know how I’ll get through the next couple of weeks l

I think the GP should have asked you to come in, she or the nurse should have taken your blood pressure and kept a check on it.
Do you have a BP machine at home?
Yes, it can be caused by stress but when you go in for the procedure, they will take your BP and won't proceed if it's high.
I ended up in MAU and had BP tablets prescribed, went back after two weeks and they went ahead that time.

Sorry if that doesn't sound positive but your GP needs to help, phone her again.

🤞 All will be well when you go for the investigation

Callistemon21

Sillyoldbird

Well the GP just rang and said not to worry about the blood pressure, despite how high it is, as it’s undoubtedly caused by the stress.

She also advised not to have a private consultation/colonoscopy as I may fall between two systems and something may get missed.

I’m so anxious and don’t know how I’ll get through the next couple of weeks l

I think the GP should have asked you to come in, she or the nurse should have taken your blood pressure and kept a check on it.
Do you have a BP machine at home?
Yes, it can be caused by stress but when you go in for the procedure, they will take your BP and won't proceed if it's high.
I ended up in MAU and had BP tablets prescribed, went back after two weeks and they went ahead that time.

Sorry if that doesn't sound positive but your GP needs to help, phone her again.

🤞 All will be well when you go for the investigation

She did suggest that at first but I’d already taken BP at home and gave her the readings. She felt she shouldn’t increase my medication as it might make it go too low. And she advised not to keep checking it for fear of making things worse. Also that the colonoscopy clinic would have a much higher threshold than my reading for not doing it.

I’m not sure I agree with the advice she gave about private consultation and will ponder on that.

With the state I’m in, I’m surprised she didn’t suggest some short-term help with anxiety(Valium or similar) but she just made some comment about not being able to stop me worrying. I might contact the surgery again and ask about it.

There can be many reasons for a positive result and a low percentage of these is due to cancer.

Try to stay calm, easier said than done, I know. 🙂

I was going to say that I had a sigmoidoscopy done privately a few years ago and that cost around a thousand pounds. I found it preferable to NHS ones I'd had previously mainly because of having a private room and loo to wait in! However your main concern seems to be having to wait 6 weeks on NHS and you might not gain much time by going privately. It's very likely the consultant would want to see you first and then the colonoscopy is not likely to happen immediately afterwards. It wouldn't hurt to enquire though.

My sister had her colon removed at the age of 80 has been absolutely fine. She has a colostomy but it has scarcely affected her life style. Her only complaint is that she can't wear tight trousers! I hope all goes well for you.

I had a positive test and then a colonoscopy. Everything was fine and the blood was due to a bleeding ulcer. Hope everything goes smoothly for you

Ikiesgranma

I had a positive test and then a colonoscopy. Everything was fine and the blood was due to a bleeding ulcer. Hope everything goes smoothly for you

I had a duodenal ulcer many years ago. I’m wondering now if this has recurred as quite recently I had a some gnawing stomach pains over a few days.

This may explain things I suppose.

Thanks for your good wishes

I wouldn’t be in any hurry to have a colonoscopy.
It’s quite unpleasant.

Make sure they give you plenty of pain relief.

The worst part is the awful laxative drink you have to take the night before.

This is just about the worst advice I've ever read.

I believe the test is to look for occult ( hidden blood ) so could be other reasons than cancer - such as polyps , haemorrhoids so try not to worry too much and it is good they want to investigate following the positive result. My friend was very worried too but after extensive investigations it turned out to be a harmless polyp . Good luck 🍀 !

Greciangirl

I wouldn’t be in any hurry to have a colonoscopy.
It’s quite unpleasant.

Make sure they give you plenty of pain relief.

The worst part is the awful laxative drink you have to take the night before.

Whilst I’m not looking forward to it, I am in a hurry to get it over and done with!

I can cope with the awfulness of the process but the wondering is excruciating

Of course you want it done asap, I completely understand.
Sending you my very best wishes

You’ve all been so lovely. Thanks again 😘

You asked if anyone had any positive experiences they can share. Your brother’s experience is a positive one.

As others have said, the screening test will pick up the minutest trace of blood which could have any number of causes. I understand that there’s family history but you could be worrying yourself into a frazzle over something as commonplace as a haemorrhoid. If you feel well otherwise, please try not to worry.

As far as I know, having private diagnostics would not prevent ongoing NHS care were anything to be found. A lot of NHS work is carried out in private hospitals anyway so liasion between the two systems is commonplace.

I have Crohn’s so have to have regular colonoscopies. I don’t have sedation. I rather like watching the screen and being able to talk to the doctor performing the procedure. It can be a bit uncomfortable going round the bends - the splenic and hepatic flexures either side of the transverse colon - but a gulp of Entonox (gas and air) helps with any discomfort or anxiety.

Yes that’s a good point Tinsoldier.

Thanks for the details about the colonoscopy process -your comments about ‘going round the bends’ made me smile - though I realise Crohn’s is no laughing matter. I hope it’s all going ok for you