worried about symptoms

[backs]

I am 19 and i have had blood and mucus in poo for a while now. it is bright red but i have also noticed some dark flakes in the poo which look like grape skin (i do eat grapes and plums which might be the cause) and the poo can occasionally be dark brown and light brown mixed together. i sometimes have bloating, discomfort, burping and rumbling the the stomach area which comes and goes, but nothing painful. sometimes i have constipation and, less often, diarrhea too. i have searched up these symptoms and it tells me it is likely ulcerative colitis but also cancer, which worries me even though it is quite rare in people at my age. anyone else have these symptoms?

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hi backs ,

Thank you for posting and I'm sorry to hear about your symptoms. The best thing you can do is get to a specialist and have tests run to determine what is going on. It could be a treatable chronic condition, or something like a food allergy. The only way to rule out colorectal cancer and also to diagnose if it is something else, will be to see a specialist and have tests run. It is possible for young people to get colorectal cancer, and it is important to get checked out. 90% of colorectal cancers occur in people over the age of 50.

There are a number of reasons why you could have these symptoms.

Depending on where you live and what your insurance is like, you may need to see a general practitioner first who would give a referral to a gastroenterologist.

It is a good idea to go into your doctor's appointment with notes that list the symptoms and frequency.

Please make that call to see a doctor and let us know how it goes!

~Nicole @ GCCA

[allysmith9]

It's almost comforting to meet other's in my age range experiencing similar symptoms and health questions as I am. I'm 21 and have been experiencing issues for nearly 2 years now, they started when I was 19.

I just started testing for my symptoms, and it'd be beneficial for you to go to the GI specialist. I know it's scary, trust me, I'm still scared, but there's something comforting about the fact that you are getting tested and you could get answers about whats going on.

[Derron256]

Im also experiencing similar symptoms im gonna get it check out