Bowel Cancer Screening Test positive

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 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

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 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.

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. 🙂

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.

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

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.....

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

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 ?

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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 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 had a positive test last year and had to have a colonoscopy. My husband had bowel cancer 7 years ago so I was very aware of the process.

I really built myself up to a state about both the bowel prep stuff and the procedure itself.

Neither was anything like as bad as I had anticipated. They saw a small polyp in my insides which was removed there and then. Because of this I have to have the procedure every couple of years.

Turns out the blood was from piles which I didn't even know I had.

Hi. As you can see by the amount of replies it’s not unusual to be recalled. I had a positive test last September. I was very anxious, I’ve never had to have any thing like it before and it was fear of the unknown for me.
I had haemorrhoids too but wasn’t aware they were bleeding. The prep was honestly the worst bit. I was worried about the sedation so just had gas and air they monitored my bp throughout.
It was fine just a bit of cramping, I had two small polyps and unbeknown to me I
I have diverticulitis too.They put the bleeding down to my haemorrhoids.
I waited three week, it’s a shame your wait is longer but they may phone with a cancellation. Good luck .

just follow the instructions exactly for the prep solution; i don't understand why people say it was so bad.
it's manageable, not painful, one just has to pay attention and be organised.
i didn't find it tasted of anything really.
it concerns me that people may be put off going for the procedure if everyone says the prep is horrendous etc.

I've had several colonoscopies over the years & I find the taste of the bowel prep stuff absolutely disgusting! My best way to cope with it is to get it as cold as possible in the fridge & to drink each dose as fast as possible!! The results are certainly dynamic!!

NotSpaghetti said. "He says - drink the drink (quickly) with a straw so you don't actually taste it."
Can I just add, don't try to get through all the sachets too fast, as tempting as it is to get it over and done with!
I did this when I had the test 18 months ago and on the day I was told the passage was not totally cleared, probably due to me drinking my way through them too fast.
Please believe me and others, this is the worst part of the process. I also had the 'up and down' in one session. Like so many other things in life, the anticipation is far, far worse that the actual event. Good luck x

I, like others, tested +ve, had a colonoscopy and had a polyp removed. I did not want any sedation and I was fine. Everything turned out to be normal.

The worst were my trips to the loo. My poor rear end looked and felt as though it was on fire so make sure you have the appropriate cream.

You will be fine.

The preparation I was given (called movie-prop) had to be dissolved in a litre of water and there were two sachets. As others have cited you need to stay close to a toilet - thank heavens I have a downstairs loo. Eventually you are just passing clear water. The taste is not unpleasant.

I know that of the cohort who had their procedure at the same time as me most of the women said they had not managed the full 2 litres. The doctor who did the procedure said I had "good bowel prep". After starving for 2 days we were given tea and lightly buttered toast in the recovery room. That was the nicest thing about the procedure.

If you can go private, do it. Whatever the outcome, you will deal with it. It's not knowing that makes one sick with worry. Take one day at a time
Best wishes to you
Xxx