Could This Be Colon Cancer?

[mangolife]

My hypochondriac tendencies have always been bad, but this time they're somewhat justified.

Recently I started experiencing intermittent constipation, that seems to worsen with intake of vegetables and starch. Gluten seems to also irritate my gut, but I haven't had that in a whole. Recently I've became more recent again, but I always have to strain; it feels as if there's something blocking me from completely emptying my bowels, even if I don't really have that much discomfort otherwise.

The stool seems to be of a normal consistency, if a bit hard, but it exits in small balls. Today, I notcied some bright red blood woven into one of the stools, but there was none when wiping. LAter, I felt the need to move my bowels once again, but all I could yield where some small, white, fluffy yet bloody...things. Once again, no blood while wiping.

I understand this could be anything, and possibly even haemorrhoids from straining so much. Nevertheless, I'm a worrier, and these symptoms have stressed me out so much I can barely sleep anymore. If the blood worsens, or continues, I'll see a doctor; but I 'd love some idea of what this could be. For reference, I'm a 17 year old girl, active 3x per week, BMI of 28, and no family history of colon cancer. I also thought I felt some pain in my lower abdomen, near the pelvis, and back; but this could be from dead lifts that I performed yesterday, or could even be imagined, as it seems to subside if not disappear when I immerse myself in things.

 

[InChristAlone]

At such a young age sounds like hemorrhoids from straining. But I'm no expert on blood in the stool.

 

[answersfound]

I had awful constipation for years. You need to bring down inflammation with aspirin and carrot salads. Also gelatin is important. Milk of magnesia is good but only a band aid. Benadryl at night also.

 

[XPlus]

It could be some internal fissures or hemorrhoids from intestinal irritation.

Rectal administration of fresh Aloe Juice, Vitamin E or Aspirin helps bring down the inflammation almost instantly.
Careful with the Aspirin if you've got any genetic blood mutation. Doses higher than 0.3g require more Vitmain K intake.
Aged Cascara is the most powerful and effective gut inflammation aid in my experience.
Avoiding irritating foods is the main thing.

 

[PeatMonster]

Coconut or MCT oil in the diet sometimes helps things slide through easier. I think at one point in my life, eating a lot of celery and other raw vegetables caused constipation which turned into hemorrhoids.

Edit: Also squatting to defecate instead of sitting on the toilet like a chair could greatly enhance elimination.

 

[narouz]

You're a 17yr old female,
and you seem athletically inclined what with power lifting, right...?

When I was 15 or 16
I had to tell my track coach I couldn't practice
because I had blood coming from my anus.

I was barely human at that age
and had absolutely no ability to observe my gut and elimination scientifically.
It resolved on its own as I recall.
(it wasn't cancer )

Tell us something about your diet. :)

 

[mangolife]

Thanks guys. In the spirit of TMI, the bowel movement I had this morning was free of any blood, and required a lot less straining, even though it was still composed of differently-shaped balls. Oddly, I had a slice of pizza last night - which I imagined would make my issues worse - but mostly, I had milk and honey, which seems to soothe my gut and generally lifts my spirits, haha. So perhaps it was some form of inflammation, or hemorrhoids.

@narouz - my diet is mostly:
- fruit: mango, grapes, pears, cherries, bananas
- non-organic low/mid fat dairy: 2% milk, 0% cottage cheese, 0% liberte yogurt, gouda cheese, yeo valley yogurt
- starch in the form of potatoes/rice/veg
- non-fatty red meat: beef and lamb
- seafood: prawns, sometimes oysters, tuna, and cod
- fats like butter, coconut oil, and chocolate
- Sweeteners like honey (store-bought) and white sugar (don't use white sugar a lot; maybe 2 tsp at most when I do, and not every day)
- and, of course, coffee and OJ.

As you can tell, the ordeal unnerved me more than slightly, and I'll keep a close eye on my bowel habits hereafter.

 

[tara]

My guess is it's more likely to be constipation than cancer - pellets are too hard - and there are good ideas above. None the less, if it were me, I'd consider seeing a dr to get appropriate tests to rule out more serious issues, especially if you can't improve it quickly with diet and cascara. Are you drinking to thirst?

 

[mangolife]

My guess is it's more likely to be constipation than cancer - pellets are too hard - and there are good ideas above. None the less, if it were me, I'd consider seeing a dr to get appropriate tests to rule out more serious issues, especially if you can't improve it quickly with diet and cascara. Are you drinking to thirst?

This has scared me a little because I'm now having softer bowel movements, but still don't feel like I can properly empty my bowels. It's not painful or anything, and maybe I'm overblowing it, but it does seem odd. I haven't tried cascara yet; I might try not eating any yogurt tomorrow, because iirc the casein can also be a bit of an issue for some? And yes, I am.

Also, the stools themselves haven't narrowed or anything, which is good.

Edit: I did notice what looks like white flecks in some of them. Mucus?

 

[answersfound]

Even if it was colon cancer, it doesn't matter. Who knows maybe I had cancer at one point. Everyone who is optimizing their metabolism is "treating cancer." In some instances, medical intervention is essential, but most of the time all these cancers can be resolved with a pro-thyroid diet. People are just so misguided that they don't have a clue what that means.

 

[natedawggh]

My hypochondriac tendencies have always been bad, but this time they're somewhat justified.

Recently I started experiencing intermittent constipation, that seems to worsen with intake of vegetables and starch. Gluten seems to also irritate my gut, but I haven't had that in a whole. Recently I've became more recent again, but I always have to strain; it feels as if there's something blocking me from completely emptying my bowels, even if I don't really have that much discomfort otherwise.

The stool seems to be of a normal consistency, if a bit hard, but it exits in small balls. Today, I notcied some bright red blood woven into one of the stools, but there was none when wiping. LAter, I felt the need to move my bowels once again, but all I could yield where some small, white, fluffy yet bloody...things. Once again, no blood while wiping.

I understand this could be anything, and possibly even haemorrhoids from straining so much. Nevertheless, I'm a worrier, and these symptoms have stressed me out so much I can barely sleep anymore. If the blood worsens, or continues, I'll see a doctor; but I 'd love some idea of what this could be. For reference, I'm a 17 year old girl, active 3x per week, BMI of 28, and no family history of colon cancer. I also thought I felt some pain in my lower abdomen, near the pelvis, and back; but this could be from dead lifts that I performed yesterday, or could even be imagined, as it seems to subside if not disappear when I immerse myself in things.

No it's not cancer, sweetie. You're okay. Cancer does not at first cause acute pain like you were feeling, because it's just a growth of tissues. The pain is from simple intestinal inflammation. I have/had coeliac disease and my reaction to wheat causes severe cramping and even shuts down my immune system, causing sinus infections. Many conditions can be very uncomfortable without being life-threatening. You can also easily bleed in the intestines, from consitpation just because the lining is relatively more delicate. It's nothing to worry about unless it were to persist for days or longer. But are you sure what you saw was blood and not something red you ate?

If you are having a lot of constipation, try increasing your magnesium, calcium, and sodium intake (in that order). This should help get things moving. If you have these kinds of intestinal problems you should not be eating wheat or grains of any kind. If you do you are just asking for more discomfort. I also found the amino acid lysine to be helpful for bloating and constipation.

 

[mangolife]

No it's not cancer, sweetie. You're okay. Cancer does not at first cause acute pain like you were feeling, because it's just a growth of tissues. The pain is from simple intestinal inflammation. I have/had coeliac disease and my reaction to wheat causes severe cramping and even shuts down my immune system, causing sinus infections. Many conditions can be very uncomfortable without being life-threatening. You can also easily bleed in the intestines, from consitpation just because the lining is relatively more delicate. It's nothing to worry about unless it were to persist for days or longer. But are you sure what you saw was blood and not something red you ate?

If you are having a lot of constipation, try increasing your magnesium, calcium, and sodium intake (in that order). This should help get things moving. If you have these kinds of intestinal problems you should not be eating wheat or grains of any kind. If you do you are just asking for more discomfort. I also found the amino acid lysine to be helpful for bloating and constipation.

Interesting; I wonder if this is also the problem for me? Yeah, earlier this morning I had pain similar to that of menstrual cramps, but they lessened (and weren't at all severe.) now I'm experiencing fairly bad gas and mild discomfort, as well as only passing small, mucusy stools again today.

It could've been something red I ate, but definitely not that morning, as I had eggs, coconut oil and coffee. I haven't had any blood since which is good, so possibly I ate something red the night before?

Thank you, though, I'll try and implement those ideas! I'm thinking the stress of this whole ordeal - self-inflicted, too - is worsening the whole thing...

 

[marcar72]

...that seems to worsen with intake of vegetables and starch. Gluten seems to also irritate my gut, but I haven't had that in a whole...

Ewwww vegetables... and starch well there's Peat friendly starches and then there's the, well you get my drift. Gluten is pretty well known to cause some people issues. I think you've answered your own inquiry with the snippet of qoute I supplied above.

I would only suggest to maybe just focus on fruit juices for now and plenty of gelatin. All those fruits you're consuming have their own fiber/pectin (starchy) profiles and some of that stuff is probably causing you a lot of the distress... :2cents

Gelatin I feel is very important, really important. I've recently discovered through trial and error just how important it is since upping my intake again. Glycine probably really is a "semi-essential amino acid" and it's found abundantly in gelatin.

Gelatin is important for skin/joint health. Bone broth too but they probably differ somewhat. My view is intestines are more or less "skin" that's on the inside. It's usually the first to be repaired when there's an abundant supply of gelatin in the diet from what I can tell... :2cents

EDIT: Abundant Vitamin A also seems to help in the regeneration of epithelial cells (intestine, mucous membranes) so be sure you're good on that as well. (eat liver regularly) :2cents

 

[mangolife]

...that seems to worsen with intake of vegetables and starch. Gluten seems to also irritate my gut, but I haven't had that in a whole...

Ewwww vegetables... and starch well there's Peat friendly starches and then there's the, well you get my drift. Gluten is pretty well known to cause some people issues. I think you've answered your own inquiry with the snippet of qoute I supplied above.

I would only suggest to maybe just focus on fruit juices for now and plenty of gelatin. All those fruits you're consuming have their own fiber/pectin (starchy) profiles and some of that stuff is probably causing you a lot of the distress... :2cents

Gelatin I feel is very important, really important. I've recently discovered through trial and error just how important it is since upping my intake again. Glycine probably really is a "semi-essential amino acid" and it's found abundantly in gelatin.

Gelatin is important for skin/joint health. Bone broth too but they probably differ somewhat. My view is intestines are more or less "skin" that's on the inside. It's usually the first to be repaired when there's an abundant supply of gelatin in the diet from what I can tell... :2cents

EDIT: Abundant Vitamin A also seems to help in the regeneration of epithelial cells (intestine, mucous membranes) so be sure you're good on that as well. (eat liver regularly) :2cents

Yeah, gonna start a very strict restriction of gluten (not that I eat a lot of it, but for example if my mum bakes I usually try a bit) just to see, ease some anxieties (and hopefully my bowels )

There is an issue in that I can't get gelatine. I'm still living under my parent's roof, and we can't find it in supermarkets; I'm also prohibited from ordering it online, though admittedly I haven't pressed the issue. The juice and the liver I can do :)

 

[marcar72]

There is an issue in that I can't get gelatine. I'm still living under my parent's roof, and we can't find it in supermarkets; I'm also prohibited from ordering it online, though admittedly I haven't pressed the issue. The juice and the liver I can do :)

Well then focus on bone broths and connective tissue types of meat like ground beef (too gristly to make steak out of) or shank types of cut maybe. Bone broths can be pretty cheap if you don't mine commercial lot bones that aren't organic, yada, yada, yada... you get my drift... :2cents

 

[mangolife]

There is an issue in that I can't get gelatine. I'm still living under my parent's roof, and we can't find it in supermarkets; I'm also prohibited from ordering it online, though admittedly I haven't pressed the issue. The juice and the liver I can do :)

Well then focus on bone broths and connective tissue types of meat like ground beef (too gristly to make steak out of) or shank types of cut maybe. Bone broths can be pretty cheap if you don't mine commercial lot bones that aren't organic, yada, yada, yada... you get my drift... :2cents

I shall, thank you!

On another note, the anxiety is getting worse. I seem to be passing small stools that aren't always hard and dry, but always require straining. Yesterday, once again, I noticed the small, red streak, but since it was so tiny I attributed it to the tomato sauce and strawberries I ate (though after, I had intensely painful stomach pains, like someone had filled my stomach with battery acid and was stabbing it with a hot knife; they subsided after a couple of hours.) However, the feeling that I must go but can't - that something is blocking me - persists, and it's exceptionally uncomfortable. I wanted to put an appointment on with the GP but my mum says it's nothing, but promises she will take me if it continues/worsens for another week (I go on holiday on Friday so it's a bit awkward) all I want is a peace of mind, to know it's not cancer, and ugh. Not good. I don't have fatigue, I don't have weightloss, I don't have bleeding (I don't think) I don't have persistent abdominal pain....but truly, if it's so sudden, what else could it be?

Unless it's internal hemorrhoids, brought about by the straining, tricking me into thinking I need to go...

 

[tara]

Hi Mango,
I think most likely it is not cancer, but if I had the symptoms you describe for more than a few days, I would be going to the dr to get more information about what is going on, just in case. Then you get to figure out what you think is best to do with the information you get. Bleeding is not good - something is amiss. I don't think tomato sauce or strawberries usually comes out looking like blood. Hopefully it is something you can attend to successfully yourself. If you can identify particular foods that are irritating your gut, that may solve the problem for you.
For me, wheat is one of the few things that can obviously mess up my digestive system. I don't eat it regularly, but now and then I am tempted.
I find aged cascara sagrada helpful - I just have a little tea made from about half a capsule every day, but dosage varies - some use more to good effect.
Take care.

 

[mangolife]

Hi Mango,
I think most likely it is not cancer, but if I had the symptoms you describe for more than a few days, I would be going to the dr to get more information about what is going on, just in case. Then you get to figure out what you think is best to do with the information you get. Bleeding is not good - something is amiss. I don't think tomato sauce or strawberries usually comes out looking like blood. Hopefully it is something you can attend to successfully yourself. If you can identify particular foods that are irritating your gut, that may solve the problem for you.
For me, wheat is one of the few things that can obviously mess up my digestive system. I don't eat it regularly, but now and then I am tempted.
I find aged cascara sagrada helpful - I just have a little tea made from about half a capsule every day, but dosage varies - some use more to good effect.
Take care.

I'm going to book an appointment for when I get back from France. Unfortunately, I can't go beforehand, so hopefully either the symptoms die down/I can calm down enough to actually enjoy the holiday. Speaking of the bleeding, I've only had it twice, and both times it was after I've eaten something red - a tiny, tiny streak, less than a mm, nowhere else, hence I attributed it to food/straining. Still, it could be bleeding, but I'll have to keep a close eye on it.

When I described the blockage feeling before, I actually went - still only passed a few small stools, normal colour, no obvious mucus. Had to strain a fair bit, though. Now I feel a lot better - could this just be incredibly bad constipation?

I have lost weight, I've just checked. I'm down a few lbs. But to be honest I haven't checked in a while, and I've been keeping my calories at 1700-1900, with exercise, so it's not unreasonable. And I feel pretty good, asides all this.

As for FODMAPS, or other triggers, I haven't had gluten in days now; I still eat yogurt and dairy every day, as the couple of days I avoided yogurt yielded no change. I seem to be better now that I don't eat as much cheese. Porridge did nothing, and blocked me up something spectacular. Sadly, coffee doesn't seem to help a lot with all of this, either. Milk and honey is incredibly soothing.

Other factors include this incessant stress; potential lack of sleep; and...well, internal changes that could be no fault of my own.

(I am sorry that I'm clogging up the boards with this very TMI stuff, and incessantly ranting in a worried manner; I've always been like this when it comes to mine, or a loved one's health, and it's worsening because everyone else seems to be passing it off as 'one of those things' and reassuring me that I'm "the picture of health" - this, as you can imagine, does nothing for my anxiety, or my altered bowel movements!)

 

[tara]

Hi,
Seems like you are undereating - 1900 cals is not likely to be enough for growing young woman. I hope your appetite comes back soon.
Have you tried bag-breathing or other breathing exercises? It's another technique that may make a difference to your digestion, by helping get yor CO2 levels up a little, and so improve circulation and oxygen delivery to your digestive system. Apparently some people can use reduced breathing exercises to help release constipation.

 

[mangolife]

Hi,
Seems like you are undereating - 1900 cals is not likely to be enough for growing young woman. I hope your appetite comes back soon.
Have you tried bag-breathing or other breathing exercises? It's another technique that may make a difference to your digestion, by helping get yor CO2 levels up a little, and so improve circulation and oxygen delivery to your digestive system. Apparently some people can use reduced breathing exercises to help release constipation.

Well, I've been dieting for as long as I can remember, so I'm not surprised about the low appetite and the potentially sluggish metabolism. (which may actually be causing the constipation? I only began to obsessively monitor them after a stint in the hospital, for work experience, so I actually have no real idea what they were like before...I recall being occasionally constipated, sometimes for days at a time, but still...) I'm scared to eat more for fear of gaining weight.

No, I haven't, but I will do. thanks :)