15 year old

kayb48
kayb48 Member Posts: 13
in Colorectal Cancer #1
My 15 year old granddaughter is having signs of colon cancer.My daughter thinks she is to young for a colonoscomy and to young to have colon cancer. I had stage 4 colon cancer at the age of 47.I told her I had read about many young people that have colon cancer.any advice I can give her?

Comments

  • Sonia32
    Sonia32 Member Posts: 1,071 Member
    #2
    Better to be safe then sorry
    Please make your daughter understand that she should get he checked out by a doctor. Get a colonscopy done, especially as there is a history of colon cancer with yourself. It may be nothing, but not worth taking a risk. When I was due to have surgery I was told the youngest patient my surgeon had was 17, so in this day and age you never know.
  • daBeachBum
    daBeachBum Member Posts: 164
    #3
    I'm with Sonia on this...
    I
    I'm with Sonia on this...

    I sincerely hope that your concerns for your granddaughter are unfounded, but for everyone's peace of mind I would urge a colonoscopy even if you have to go out-of-pocket on it.

    I send good thoughts to you and your family.

    Ray
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #4
    Should be checked
    If not a colonoscopy (which would be my first choice), I would say at the very least she should have fecal occult testing.

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • SisterSledge
    SisterSledge Member Posts: 332 Member
    #5
    can't agree
    Better safe than sorry? Things can go wrong in a colonoscopy and it's a fairly invasive procedure for a fifteen year old girl to endure. Surely get her a checkup so a doctor can evaluate her symptoms. A stool test and/or perhaps a CEA test to start, could set your mind more at ease? Truly, although young people do indeed get cancer, it is much less likely than for someone close or beyond 50yrs old.

    Janine
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    #6
    bright red blood
    I had bright red blood on the toilet tissue and the doc says hemroids and I told her "prove it-run the tests and write the codes such that my insurance will pay"
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #7
    There are other issues that can be causing her problems (and at 15, it probably is something else.) However, the only way to find out is to consult with her dr and have her checked out. Even 1 in a million odds happen to someone (I know - appendix cancer is less than 1 in a million, and I have it.)

    Good family support and a caring physician will help her get through whatever tests she needs.

    BTW, a friend's 11 year old grandson had to have 2 colonoscopies in a short period of time for celiac disease (sprue) - kids can deal with these things, sometimes better than we adults can.
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #8
    She needs to see the doctor
    While it would be VERY rare for her to have colon cancer, she needs to see a doctor and discuss her symptoms and try to find the cause. You've only said "signs of colon cancer" but not said what those signs are. She needs to discuss them with a medical professional who knows the family history.
  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    #9
    Kathryn_in_MN said:

    She needs to see the doctor
    While it would be VERY rare for her to have colon cancer, she needs to see a doctor and discuss her symptoms and try to find the cause. You've only said "signs of colon cancer" but not said what those signs are. She needs to discuss them with a medical professional who knows the family history.

    It could be IBS or Crohns.
    It could be IBS or Crohns. She does need it checked out!
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #10
    SisterSledge said:

    can't agree
    Better safe than sorry? Things can go wrong in a colonoscopy and it's a fairly invasive procedure for a fifteen year old girl to endure. Surely get her a checkup so a doctor can evaluate her symptoms. A stool test and/or perhaps a CEA test to start, could set your mind more at ease? Truly, although young people do indeed get cancer, it is much less likely than for someone close or beyond 50yrs old.

    Janine

    Get her checked out by a gastroenterologist
    A CEA test (bloodtest) is generally reserved for someone already diagnosed and usually indicates metastasis or not- not generally for someone with early stage cancer.

    With your own history, however, I would think a colonoscopy would be in order. I know it's invasive, but it could help know what's going on. The likelihood of cancer would be very slim, but I still think it's better to check and know for sure- finding it in early stages is obviously better than waiting and finding it has advanced.
    It also could just be something else going on such as colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Chron's disease, or something like that. Those illnesses could be serious too & they usually (from what I've heard) can see evidence or not of those illnesses during a colonoscopy.
    Since you didn't mention specifically what her symptoms are, I'm not sure, but it could even be related to poor digestion (in which maybe digestive enzymes could be helpful) and/or it also could be something like lactose intolerance or even a food allergy like to wheat or some kind of gluten sensitivity. You might also consider urging your doctor to look into testing with a naturopathic doctor where they can do biodermal testing electonically and it can tell all sorts of allergies (and other things going on) without being invasive & seems to be pretty accurate. I had it done & learned all sorts of things about my body, including several allergies. I had gone to an allergist years ago- some of the things that showed up as allergies on this recent testing I already knew about from before, but some were new news to me- never showed up on any other traditional allergy testing before. I'm now addressing those allergies and making changes & it is helping with my digestion. I also take digestive enzymes when i eat and I take probiotics daily (help with restoring the "good" bacteria in the gut, which is essential for proper digestion and health). If she's been on antibiotics recently, the gut "flora" of good bacteria may be off and needing probiotics to restore it again.
    Just something to consider and possibly look into.
    I don't think this kind of testing can diagnosis cancer at all or other things like colitis, irritable bowel, etc, so she does definitely need to at least by evaluated by a gastroenterologist (G.I. doctor).
    Best wishes & please keep us informed-

    Lisa

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