Worred for my wife (possible colon cancer)

Gordknight

So over the past year or so my wife has had constant bloating and stomach pain off and on. Four or five times it made her double over in pain... once even causing vomiting.

Anyway fastforward toa few nights ago I finally made her go in to the ER as her primary Dr didnt think anything was wrong. They did a regular and a transvaginal ultrasound and everything was clear. Then they did a CT scan and found a mass in her right colon that is a little bigger than a 50 cent piece. 

Dr said there is no way to know if its cancer or something benign until they do a colonoscopy. She has one scheduled for tomorrow at noon.

She is 28 as of two days ago (happy birthday right?) 
Has no family history of colon cancer though her grandmother had some colon polyps removed and diverticulitis.
She hasnt had blood in her stool as far as she can see or remember.
She has been pretty constipated but that has been the case for well over 10 years and is normal for her to a degree.

She has had some weight gain since this all started.

Im really worried as my mind jumps to the worst case scenario all the time. It saved my life once though.. was diagnosed with a stage 1a melanoma a year back because of my constant worry.

Is it possible that this could be benign? So many forums and websites say most masses are colon cancer and there are countless stories online of women her age getting stage IV colon cancer.  So worried.  Any advice or good thoughts you could send my way before tomorrow would be most helpful.  

Thanks!

Trubrit

Welcome to the forum

Sorry for the circumstance that has brought you here. 

28 is indeed young, but not too young. I have a friend who was diagnosed at 26. She is in her 30's now and is Cancer free.  I do not think that there are 'countless women' of 28 with CRC (colorectal Cancer). It is quite unusual. 

Try not to go overboard with the internet. It can scare you silly. This forum, is an excellent resourse. You'd be a wise man to stick with this one, and others suggested here. 

If possible, take a deep breath and relax. Try you best not to jump forward to much, though I know that is just what our natural selves want to do. 

The colonoscopy is just what your wife needs right now, as it will assertain just where and how big this 'mass' (the word mass always soiunds bad, if not worse than it might be) is. They will take a biopsy, and the GI Doc can give you a pretty good idea right there and then if it is Cancerous. 

Once you know it is Cancer, then you will be on your way to getting it taken care of, and once you are doing that it really starts getting 'better' if that is the right word to use. 

Good luck!

Sue - Trubrit

Gordknight

Trubrit said:

Welcome to the forum

Sorry for the circumstance that has brought you here. 

28 is indeed young, but not too young. I have a friend who was diagnosed at 26. She is in her 30's now and is Cancer free.  I do not think that there are 'countless women' of 28 with CRC (colorectal Cancer). It is quite unusual. 

Try not to go overboard with the internet. It can scare you silly. This forum, is an excellent resourse. You'd be a wise man to stick with this one, and others suggested here. 

If possible, take a deep breath and relax. Try you best not to jump forward to much, though I know that is just what our natural selves want to do. 

The colonoscopy is just what your wife needs right now, as it will assertain just where and how big this 'mass' (the word mass always soiunds bad, if not worse than it might be) is. They will take a biopsy, and the GI Doc can give you a pretty good idea right there and then if it is Cancerous. 

Once you know it is Cancer, then you will be on your way to getting it taken care of, and once you are doing that it really starts getting 'better' if that is the right word to use. 

Good luck!

Sue - Trubrit

Thanks Sue.  Im trying to be

Thanks Sue.  Im trying to be as positive as possible.  I know not all masses are cancerous and can cause problems.  And I know it just seems like there are countless women with it at that age because the internet highlights it so much.  

I should also add that her blood tests and urine tests were all normal.. no fevers or anything.

Ill keep you all posted on what we find tomorrow.

Thank you.

NewHere

As Sue Said

Welcome to the boards, though sorry you have to be here.

Try not to worry too much and do not let the internet scare you.  This board is a good one with many people, tremndous knowledge and support, who have been down the CRC road.  This place has helped me tremendously (IIIC diagnosed late January, Surgery in Feb and 11 out of 12 chemo sessions done), get through things,  Questions, concerns and joking around all helped.  So if in the worse case scenario, make sure to be here for whatever you need.

Hoping that you have good news shortly.

Gordknight

NewHere said:

As Sue Said

Welcome to the boards, though sorry you have to be here.

Try not to worry too much and do not let the internet scare you.  This board is a good one with many people, tremndous knowledge and support, who have been down the CRC road.  This place has helped me tremendously (IIIC diagnosed late January, Surgery in Feb and 11 out of 12 chemo sessions done), get through things,  Questions, concerns and joking around all helped.  So if in the worse case scenario, make sure to be here for whatever you need.

Hoping that you have good news shortly.

Good and confusing news

Good and strange news! Her colonoscopy came back completely normal. It stumped the GI doc who then double and triple checked to CT scan to make sure that the mass was not located in front of or behind the colon and he said he is positive it should be IN the colon. 

The mass is nowhere to be found in the colon. He took some tissue samples for biopsies to be sure but said that he thinks it was possibly impacted stool that was passed during the colon cleanse. He wants us to follow up with her primary care Dr if problems persist and also recommends that she takes miralax daily to help her be more regular. 

Thanks for all your positivity and support. It helped mountain loads. I just hope that the DRs didnt misread the CT scan and it isnt a mass on her ovary or something, but I think that isnt likely right? Can CT's misplace where a mass is actually located?

Hmm well we will follow it closely. Thanks everyone again!

 

NewHere

Gordknight said:

Good and confusing news

Good and strange news! Her colonoscopy came back completely normal. It stumped the GI doc who then double and triple checked to CT scan to make sure that the mass was not located in front of or behind the colon and he said he is positive it should be IN the colon. 

The mass is nowhere to be found in the colon. He took some tissue samples for biopsies to be sure but said that he thinks it was possibly impacted stool that was passed during the colon cleanse. He wants us to follow up with her primary care Dr if problems persist and also recommends that she takes miralax daily to help her be more regular. 

Thanks for all your positivity and support. It helped mountain loads. I just hope that the DRs didnt misread the CT scan and it isnt a mass on her ovary or something, but I think that isnt likely right? Can CT's misplace where a mass is actually located?

Hmm well we will follow it closely. Thanks everyone again!

 

That Is Great News

So good to hear it came back well for you.  Sometimes CT scans are not 100% in accuracy or being read.  For instance, before my colonoscopy and after the scan showed something, the doctor told me that about 50% of the time he finds nothing when doing the procedure though the scan shows something.  In my case, however, it was there and in fact the surgeon said that the surgery showed the tumor was bigger and spread further that showed on the scan.

Definately make sure to keep up on it, but it sounds very good overall.

Congrats to you and your wife.  It has to be a big relief.

Trubrit

Gordknight said:

Good and confusing news

Good and strange news! Her colonoscopy came back completely normal. It stumped the GI doc who then double and triple checked to CT scan to make sure that the mass was not located in front of or behind the colon and he said he is positive it should be IN the colon. 

The mass is nowhere to be found in the colon. He took some tissue samples for biopsies to be sure but said that he thinks it was possibly impacted stool that was passed during the colon cleanse. He wants us to follow up with her primary care Dr if problems persist and also recommends that she takes miralax daily to help her be more regular. 

Thanks for all your positivity and support. It helped mountain loads. I just hope that the DRs didnt misread the CT scan and it isnt a mass on her ovary or something, but I think that isnt likely right? Can CT's misplace where a mass is actually located?

Hmm well we will follow it closely. Thanks everyone again!

 

Wonderful news!

I am so happy for the both of you. 

What a terrible scare. One you guys won't forget for a long time. 

Like NH said, keep up on the check-ups, just to cover your tracks, and be sure live a wonderfull healthy life. 

I expect you both to be celebrating many, many years of married life together. 

Sue - Trubrit