is this colon cancer or haemorrhoids?

[ellie258]

Hello, for about two months now i have had pain and discomfort in my anus which is on and off. People have told me it is probably haemorrhoids. But me being the anxious idiot that i am, i keep telling myself it’s colon cancer. the thing is i’m only 15 so i know it’s very unlikely. recently i’ve been getting twinges at the bottom of my pelvis but these are only really there when i’m stressed or think about colon cancer. there’s no blood in my stools but this morning it looked a bit thinner than usual. i’m so anxious though. please can someone help me out x

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hi ellie258 ,Thank you for posting here and I'm sorry for what you are experiencing. It must be scary and of course, making you anxious. 90% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed in people over the age of 50, and the 10% that are diagnosed under 50, very few are teenagers. Having said that, we are glad that you are taking this seriously and wanting to get it checked out.

It would be a good idea to start with your primary care doctor, and figure out with them what the next best step would be.

Are you able to share your worry about this with your parents? Lots of people aren't too thrilled to talk about bowel habits and issues, but it is best to deal with it.

We're here for you to offer you support and advice. Please talk to your parents about seeing your primary care doctor so that you can get some answers and treatment for the pain and discomfort you are experiencing.

Please keep us updated, we are here for you!

~Nicole @ GCCA

[ellie258 in reply to Nicole_GCCA]

Thank you so much, i have spoken to my parents about it and they don’t seem too concerned. My dad suffers from very bad haemorrhoids and he reckons I probably just have mild haemorrhoids and not anything too serious like cancer. the discomfort has reduced a lot recently as i have been less focused on it although i’ve now been stressing about this other pain in the middle of my groin! i know i am a massive hypochondriac and have worried about every pain i have ever really got since i was very young. but thank you for your advice! I think that if anything gets worse again i will definitely go to the doctor to get it checked out.