New Blood in Stool

[E08109]

Hello everyone, I have recently seen blood mixed in my stool and wondering if anyone has experienced something similar. The picture shows the second occurrence (Friday), the first occurrence was 3 weeks ago. I’m concerned because I haven’t had a pleasant bowel movement in this 3 weeks. Constipation proceeded the first bleeding, and gaseous diarrhea proceeded the second bleeding. The only other issues I have are lower back and leg pain.

I already had a colonoscopy scheduled for October, but I’m thinking this warrants a more urgent look. I’ve been informing my GI about these sightings. Since it’s the weekend, I haven’t heard back since Friday. I am concerned, but I’m hopeful that this is something like internal hemorrhoids.

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator]

Hi E08109,

Thank you for posting on Colon Cancer Connected. What you are experiencing could be caused by a lot of different things. I am curious about what the colonoscopy you had performed 8 months ago revealed. Also, why were you getting the colonoscopy? Were there other symptoms going on last October and are these the same symptoms you're experiencing now?

I see you contacted your GI about these symptoms. I think you're doing the absolute correct thing. It could be internal hemorrhoids. You just need to find good answers and you are doing that. Another thing to think about is if there are any hereditary aspects to medical issues going on in your family. This is good information for your doctor to know as well. It could lead to some further testing.

I do wish you the best in finding out exactly what's going on. I think you were on the path to doing just that. Please let us know what you find out. That type of information can be helpful to others on this site as well.

Thank you,

~Tom, GCCA Survivor - Colon Cancer Connected Site Administrator.

Just a reminder - this group is here to offer support, share experiences, and offer our thoughts - but this is not medical advice, and you should always consult your medical professional(s). Additionally, for all emergencies, seek urgent medical care, never delay.

[E08109 in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

Thanks, and the colonoscopy is actually scheduled for this upcoming October. This will be my first colonoscopy and it was scheduled because I’m actually at an elevated risk of colorectal cancer, though not at my current age. It was set as a precaution, so the timing is both good and bad (because no one wants to find blood in their stool).

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to E08109]

Yes, definitely. Glad to hear it's a precaution. I have a hereditary aspect for colon cancer in my family. Lynch Syndrome. I am MSI-h with dMMR. It is great you are getting this screening. My first colonoscopy was at the age of 49 when I was already stage 4. I know hindsight is 20/20, but with the cancer events in my family, I should have been getting screened at age 34 when a cousin passed from colon cancer. We know more now, but back then no one was saying that family members should be getting screenings.

You are all over this👍👏❤️

[Mondlee in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

Hello, can I know when u find out stage 4 at age 49, what can you do ? What did the doctor advise? Are you okay already now?

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to Mondlee]

Hi Mondlee,

I am doing fine now. It’s been 11 years since my diagnosis and I am 6 years NED (no evidence of disease). It it took about four and a half years to get there. I did therapies and radiation which were not the solution. After that, a clinical trial found me and that proved to be the game changer.

The first thing I did was realize that I didn’t know how to fight cancer. I had to have good doctors which I did. Where I live there are three research hospitals within 65 miles of my house. I didn’t really focus on that until I got cancer. There is a lot of communication between the research hospitals and the local cancer hospitals.

The very first thing I did after getting my initial colonoscopy and having partial colectomy surgery, was get genetic testing. I didn’t know why I was doing that but it proved that I had Lynch syndrome which is hereditary. Everyone on my father’s side of the family had to get tested as well. It took over two and a half years for me to realize that the genetic testing was absolutely the most important thing I did. It’s a very important thing for any cancer patient to do. The testing made my biomarkers known and that’s how a clinical trial found me over two years after having those genetic tests done. It was an amazing thing. That point in time there was nothing on the table that was truly beneficial to my fight. The clinical trial was to test a known immunotherapy that was currently approved for certain lung and melanoma cancers. I truly didn’t know exactly why we were doing this since I had colon cancer. But in 2014, there was a dramatic increase in the sequencing of tumors and we started to know more things about them. Because of genetic testing, the sequencing showed that my biomarkers had something in common with those of the long and melanoma cancers that this immunotherapy was developed for. So, we did a clinical trial. It was quite miraculous. It truly was the game changer for me. This is called a pan cancer therapy as it is one immunotherapy drug that can treat three or more tumor types.

I am all about genetic testing, screening for cancer, sequencing of tumors and overall ... Cancer Research👍💪❤️

[Jkdd28 in reply to E08109]

Hi can i ask what is the result of you colonoscopy..thank you

[E08109 in reply to Jkdd28]

Hi, Yes actually. The results were reassuring. It turned out that the likely cause was internal hemorrhoids, hence the streaky nature of the blood. My Dr. did find a very small polyp that was non-cancerous and unlikely to have been the culprit of the bleeding.

[Mondlee in reply to E08109]

Hi but did they tell you any sightings for internal hemorrhoids?