Arrival for the colonoscopy

The first question I’m asked when I tell someone I have rectal cancer at the age of 42 is, “what were your symptoms”?  It’s easy for me to talk about because if I can help someone else so they don’t have to go through what I am, it is worth the conversation.  This was my motivation for beginning my blog.  

When I started seeing doctors, none of them would have guessed that my body was hosting cancer.  They were tossing out things like diverticulitis, IBS, Chrons, not once did the word cancer come up.

My Symptoms
I started noticing that occasionally I would get an upset stomach after eating, it was usually  after I’d eaten dinner.  I assumed that maybe I was just eating too much.  Lord knows, I do like my food!  At first this was happening about every other week.  Occasionally, I would see some blood in my stool, but It wasn’t regular and not a lot.  As the weeks went on, the frequency of both symptoms increased.  I noticed a dull, sporadic pain in the lower left part of my stomach, above my pelvic area. It wasn’t a sharp pain and it came and went.  The frequency of blood in my stool increased and sometimes my stool was very mucusy.  One day my stomach inflated until I thought it was going to burst.  I wasn’t gassy, it was just full of something. I thought, maybe I was growing an alien baby! Okay, so that’s clearly not possible, but I could feel my skin stretching and it was very uncomfortable.  After the 2nd or 3rd time this happened, I knew I needed to see a Dr.  

The Tests
The first rounds of tests were to make sure I wasn’t harboring some type of parasite or bug.  When those came back negative, I was given a prescription antibiotic as a precaution and some antispasmodic meds for the dull pain in the lower left stomach.  The antibiotic seemed to help with the upset stomach episodes, but after a few weeks they returned. 

The second round of tests involved a CT scan, which unfortunately didn’t get done because Covid-19 happened.  I was scheduled for this test just as the virus was hitting New Jersey and my test was cancelled.  

In an effort to squash my symptoms I started eating a very plain boring, unhealthy diet, consisting of eating white carbs, very little fiber, not many vegetables.  I was trying to make as little work for my digestive tract as possible. For three and a half months I was able to hold off the symptoms.  However, as soon as they came back, I knew I needed to see a doctor and  scheduled an appointment with a Gastroenterologist to start the process of finding out what might be wrong.  

The Lesson
Folks, if I can share one piece of advice with you that you don’t ever forget, it would be to listen to your body and be your best advocate.  No one else is going to advocate for you.  The gastroenterologist I saw didn’t think there was anything serious going on with my body.  Given the symptoms I was describing, he wasn’t going to do a colonoscopy.  I was adamant with him that something was wrong with my body and he finally agreed to do it.  Luckily, medical procedures were starting to be performed again, so I was able to schedule a colonoscopy for 2 weeks later.    

Fast forward 2 weeks, add in a Covid-19 test and I was right in the middle of the lovely “prep” for the colonoscopy.  It is every bit as glamorous as they say, so make sure you have a book, a tablet, a word puzzle book in the bathroom.  You’ll be in there a lot!  Another bit of advice, ask your doctor about the different options for the colonoscopy prep.  There are a few different types and having done 2 so far, I preferred the second method to the first.  The cleanse is really not that big of a deal, and I think I lost about 5 lbs. when all was said and done!  

I was knocked out for the procedure and woke up feeling very refreshed.  The doctor told me they took out 3 polyps and 1 was sent to pathology.  He said he wasn’t concerned and thought it would be benign but it was routine to get them checked out.  I felt relieved that they may have found the culprit to why my stomach was having issues. Honestly, I didn’t even think twice about the “pathology” part.  

Imagine my surprise when I got a call 2 days later from the doctor saying that the pathology report came back showing I had cancer.  

According to The American Cancer Society website, these are common colon/rectal cancer symptoms:

  • A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days
  • A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that’s not relieved by having one
  • Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
  • Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
  • Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Unintended weight loss

 

For more information about Colon/Rectal and other cancers, please visit the American Cancer Society website.  https://www.cancer.org/