Sillyoldbird
Of course we all worry about things but personally I try not to let worry overwhelm me to the exclusion of all else. Worry tends to come about when you are not in possession of all the facts.
To me extreme worry/anxiety is an unhelpful emotion, driving all sorts of speculative/negative thoughts and behaviours, and to what gain?
Having worked in the NHS for 44 years I've seen and heard about most things: been with patients whilst they have faced a devastating diagnosis, seen patients with catastrophic life changing injuries and spent time with patients who have no-one to care for them in the most basic sense.
It tends to put any worry I have into perspective. And if I do start to worry about something I try to bring it back to basics and remind myself that I have a loving family, I have hot and cold running water, I have a secure roof over my head, I have heating and light and can afford to pay my bills. I have enough food and I have assets that can be sold to raise money for me or mine if needed. I can dress and feed myself, take myself to the loo, I can walk and play and live independently.
If you can change an outcome with worry then go ahead, but if you can't then let it go and focus your energy on something else.
P.S: I'll let you into a secret. I worry a lot about a new (currently very immature) hedge that has been planted by some new homeowners near where I live. Their garden is on a corner of a busy T junction (opposite a primary school) and adjacent to a main road with no pavement. The previous homeowners used the slightly raised flat area as a veggie patch with no boundary hedge. Sight lines in both directions were good for pulling out against oncoming traffic.
Once the new hedge thickens out (and judging by the way they do not maintain the rest of the garden I suspect they may 'forget' to cut the hedge adjacent to the road) the sight lines will be obscured making it very difficult to see oncoming traffic.
So it worries me. Can I change it? Well I could put a polite letter through their letterbox and see what happens. I'm sure other users of that junction (particularly those on the school run) will also find it problematic, so it may get raised by them anyway.
My husband says 'let it go'!! if it becomes a problem we can avoid that junction and take a slightly different route out to the main road'. 
So pleased for you that you now have a date, good luck with it all 
With regard to your colonoscopy appointment would it help if you phoned the appointments office at your local hospital and asked how long the wait will be. Find out from the horse's mouth...so to speak. You could also tell them you'd be willing to take a short notice cancellation.
This morning I had a call asking if I'd be available to take a cancellation on Thursday. (Not for colonoscopy).
Regarding the preparation drink it's not a pleasant taste but neither is it dire. It's just that there's so much of it. At my colonoscopy procedure the doctor told me that my intestines were beautifully clean and a pleasure to work with. All was well and I thoroughly enjoyed the tea and toast.
I didn't take any sedation so I could drive home.
I wish you well and look forward to hearing from you following your procedure. All will be ok.
Never worry about posting for reassurance. That's what we're here for.
I've been trying not to blow my own trumpet harrigran but I am a senior gastroenterologist specialist nurse. I've worked in the speciality for 20 years. I now perform endoscopy and was a bowel cancer screening practitioner before that. I think I know what I'm talking about. It is professional fact not a personal opinion.
And yes it is an ethical decision for the consultant. It is for his own professional safety. As I have previously mentioned they can only work as bowel cancer screeners (which is very different from being able to carry out a colonoscopy) if they have undergone additional training. For instance I can perform a colonoscopy but I am not a bowel cancer screener. I can take biopsies and remove polyps and if they turn out to have cancer in them then it will be me who has spotted it and diagnosed it, but that still doesn't make me a bowel cancer screener. It is an NHS service, and whilst it can take place in any setting it has to be with sign off and approval of the BCS service.
Of course you would have had your bowel cancer diagnosed in a private setting but not as part of the bowel screening service.
If you attend your GP with new symptoms such as fresh rectal blood, unintentional weight loss (if only 
) and/or change in bowel habit then you will be provided with a qFit test which is the same test sent by the BCS programme. But it doesn't mean you are now part of that service. If this proves positive for blood you will then be referred via a two week wait referral system for a colonoscopy or scan, but still not as part of the BCS programme.
You only become part of the BCS service if you are automatically sent a kit when you reach the age threshold. You do not have to be symptomatic, merely the correct age.
I keep on saying: it is a completely separate pathway and that is why you should not muddle the two.
Sillyoldbird, you've raised quite a discussion! I hadn't appreciated you had yet to see the bowel cancer screening practitioner. They will put your mind at ease I'm sure. I think you will be pleasantly surprised that the wait will not be as long as you think you know! You are absolutely right not to do anything before you have spoken to them.
If you think Valium will help then there is no harm in having that discussion again with your GP.
BUT a word of warning: If you do get a prescription for Valium (or any other anti-anxiolytic) please contact the BCS nurses to ensure they are aware. You need to ask for advice about taking it on the day (or not) of the procedure. Guidelines vary in different hospitals but in ours we would not be giving the full sedative dose (or even none at all) if anti-anxiolytics are taken the same day due to concerns about overdosing.
My advice would be to take one step at a time, in the order it is advised by the experts. It is not a race. Nothing is going to change by trying to hurry things along, and sometimes it makes things worse.
Remember, so far the only thing you know for certain is that a small amount of blood has been detected in your poo, and you have been invited (and I stress the word invited) for a colonoscopy to investigate further. That is all.
And please try not to listen to those who do not have a full understanding of the bowel cancer screening programme, including friendly receptionists!
I hope this all makes sense and helps to ease your mind a little. I appreciate the wait between appointments can seem long and hard. NotSpaghetti has good advice, a swim or a long walk will do you the world of good.
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