Bowel Cancer - Don't sit on your arse!
- Thread starter LateX'Dog
- Start date
Sorry for your loss OP.
In the long term eating less red or processed meat substantially reduces your risk of bowel cancer. 4/10 men eat more than the recommended amount.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/red-meat.aspx
In the long term eating less red or processed meat substantially reduces your risk of bowel cancer. 4/10 men eat more than the recommended amount.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/red-meat.aspx
Soldato
Sorry to hear of your loss buddy. There's never anything wrong with giving people a nudge to get things checked out, no mater how insignificant they may seem, and be firm with your GP..don't let them fob you off.
I had a small lump appear on my arm a few years ago, twice the GP dismissed it as nothing to worry about. I'm covered in moles but this didn't look like a typical mole, more a pearly effect with tiny blood vessels visible inside it. The 3rd time I mentioned it to another GP and once again she said it was nothing to worry about, but I pressured her to refer me to dermatology anyway as I wanted it removed.
Guess what, it was cancerous! Thankfully it was the kind which only has a 0.5% chance of spreading to the rest of my body, but even with odds of it spreading so low, the longer you have it on you, the more it can grow downwards and increase the risk of spreading.
I had surgery to remove it recently, but if I hadn't pushed the 3rd GP then it would still be on my arm now!
I had a small lump appear on my arm a few years ago, twice the GP dismissed it as nothing to worry about. I'm covered in moles but this didn't look like a typical mole, more a pearly effect with tiny blood vessels visible inside it. The 3rd time I mentioned it to another GP and once again she said it was nothing to worry about, but I pressured her to refer me to dermatology anyway as I wanted it removed.
Guess what, it was cancerous! Thankfully it was the kind which only has a 0.5% chance of spreading to the rest of my body, but even with odds of it spreading so low, the longer you have it on you, the more it can grow downwards and increase the risk of spreading.
I had surgery to remove it recently, but if I hadn't pushed the 3rd GP then it would still be on my arm now!
Soldato
It's pretty marginal, to be honest. I heard the difference in eating something like 4 rashers of bacon a day, compared with none, was an increase from bowel cancer odds of 3 in 100, to 4 in 100.
So eat tonnes of bacon every day, and you'll have a 1 in 100 chance of getting bowel cancer you would have otherwise avoided.
You'll note that NHS link says:
Soldato
This annoys me so much, I have been to the GP almost a dozen times for unrelated issues, but whilst there I mention I've been having the most intense pain I've ever had, debilitating to the point of not being able to do anything at all except clench up my entire body trying not to scream. It's bowel related due to it happening about 40mins before one, but lately it's been happening days before a movement. I've had it for about 3 years, the latter part only started happening this month.
Do they bat an eyelid? Do they ****.
Damned if you try early, double damned when you don't.
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Yeah, sadly that is a common problem. I gave up seeing doctors a long time ago out of frustration.
Soldato
It is somewhat hit and miss with the NHS. Although I'm going back 10 years, I still find the situation odd.
My father in law had cancer of the nose and throat. He had extensive treatment in Hong Kong and eventually returned to the UK with the cancer cleared. He had monthly checks via an NHS hospital and the results were clear for 4 months. His last appointment was on a Monday at which there was no sign of any tumor. That Wednesday he had a nosebleed that would not stop. He was then told that he had a golf ball sized tumour. From nothing to that in three days! He died 6 weeks later and the NHS were a disaster in that process as well.
My wife, my children and I have all had great care.
My father in law had cancer of the nose and throat. He had extensive treatment in Hong Kong and eventually returned to the UK with the cancer cleared. He had monthly checks via an NHS hospital and the results were clear for 4 months. His last appointment was on a Monday at which there was no sign of any tumor. That Wednesday he had a nosebleed that would not stop. He was then told that he had a golf ball sized tumour. From nothing to that in three days! He died 6 weeks later and the NHS were a disaster in that process as well.
My wife, my children and I have all had great care.
Same thing with my father. He's 72, discovered he had bowel cancer last September. The idiot had been putting off going to see his GP for months after the first symptoms appeared, they got progressively worse until such a time as leaving the house became difficult because he needed constant access to a toilet. Turned out he had stage 3. The tumour was too big to operate on so they tried to shrink it with radio and chemo. Made some headway and he had half his guts pulled out, a bag fitted etc. Further tests found a cancerous mass in the middle of his liver, he had a particularly nasty strength chemo but it had no effect on the tumour other than to stop it getting any bigger. They decided to operate as it was and he's just had a little over half of his liver removed. He's currently in intensive care leaking a litre of fluid a day out of the hole where his lymph node was.
When he gets better he's got more chemo and further tests to look forward to. If he gets better.
You should have a grope of your balls regularly, have your prostate checked out, tell your GP about that persistent cough you've had for three months, ask yourself if it's normal to find blood in your stools, what about that burning feeling when you urinate? Anything which isn't normal should be investigated. There's like 200 different types of cancer.
When he gets better he's got more chemo and further tests to look forward to. If he gets better.
You should have a grope of your balls regularly, have your prostate checked out, tell your GP about that persistent cough you've had for three months, ask yourself if it's normal to find blood in your stools, what about that burning feeling when you urinate? Anything which isn't normal should be investigated. There's like 200 different types of cancer.
My dads was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few months ago and NHS don't seem to do much if your a man with cancer
I worry about my own in future too because i tend to sit on hard surfaces a lot and i always had an ocd thing about toilets. So i normally tend to think it very unclean to have to go and to be honest i never used to get the urge to go until i started eating things like nuts for fibre in excess and i eat 1lb of red meat daily.
And when i would rarely go it would be painful sometimes because they would not even flush. And when i say rarely it was 2-3 times a week max.
And when i would rarely go it would be painful sometimes because they would not even flush. And when i say rarely it was 2-3 times a week max.
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Sorry for you and your families loss 
Soldato
Sorry for your loss I can almost sympathise myself.
My mother has had bowel cancer since around 1997 and still she battles on with, it's not a nice thing as she has no bowels left at all, she has to wear a bag hidden under clothes (since around 2011 if I remember) to basically go to the toilet and to this day still requires surgey what seems to be nearly every year for the past few years. Doctors said that if it comes down to requiring another major operation they wont do it because they know nothing can actually be done anymore as there is nothing left to remove so not a nice situation to be in. On top of that she found a lump in her mouth a couple of years ago that also turned out to be cancer which the dentist failed to identify/notify the doctors about which she thought nothing about it at the time, only concerned her when it wasn't going away but I think that is cleared now but there is a possibility that parts may spread to liver etc so just a waiting game I think
EDIT: Forgot to add that her condition is crohns disease, apparently the actor who plays Kane Dingle on Emmerdale also has it.
I can almost sympathise myself.My mother has had bowel cancer since around 1997 and still she battles on with, it's not a nice thing as she has no bowels left at all, she has to wear a bag hidden under clothes (since around 2011 if I remember) to basically go to the toilet and to this day still requires surgey what seems to be nearly every year for the past few years. Doctors said that if it comes down to requiring another major operation they wont do it because they know nothing can actually be done anymore as there is nothing left to remove so not a nice situation to be in. On top of that she found a lump in her mouth a couple of years ago that also turned out to be cancer which the dentist failed to identify/notify the doctors about which she thought nothing about it at the time, only concerned her when it wasn't going away but I think that is cleared now but there is a possibility that parts may spread to liver etc so just a waiting game I think
EDIT: Forgot to add that her condition is crohns disease, apparently the actor who plays Kane Dingle on Emmerdale also has it.
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Soldato
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I agree it is important, but as you have highlighted you can repeatedly visit a GP and be fobbed off with painkillers. I am currently in that boat - been going back for loose bowel movements and lower back pain. My doctor says it isn't anything serious, have some painkillers. They did some blood tests in November. Thats it. That is as far as I have got since then.
Well, what about a CT or an ultrasound or any other further testing? I am so fed up with my local practice that I am considering going to a private GP and paying for further testing myself
Thats what i did. Had discomfort below right rib since November, went to my gp 3 times before they sent me for a blood test. Result showed cholesterol a bit high but fobbed me on the discomfort. So i went to a private gp who gave a stool test and ultrasound done 3 weeks ago. Turns out i have fatty liver and need to lose weight.
Really am not happy with the nhs gp at all. I know it costs money but private is the way to go unless you have a seriously obvious sign of illness like blood in stool.
Man of Honour
OP very sorry to read about your loss.
My father also died from bowl cancer.
What really concerns me is you say your father went to the GP and Hospital a lot before it was diagnosed. The Medical profession really needs to improve on this.
Again I am very sorry for your loss.
My father also died from bowl cancer.
What really concerns me is you say your father went to the GP and Hospital a lot before it was diagnosed. The Medical profession really needs to improve on this.
Again I am very sorry for your loss.
Soldato
Condolences to you and your family
Your numbers are way off. A bit further down the page it says 1 in 20 people will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime.
From the WCRF:
(p. 382)
Just to add, if anyone is worried about having a colonoscopy, it is not bad at all. They will give you a sedative, which is bloody amazing because you pretty much forget everything that's happened and then they walk you into a recovery room where you get a cup of tea and some cake.
An endoscopy is a more unpleasant experience but again, it's not bad. If you don't take the sedative it is uncomfortable but not painful in the slightest.
Final word; if you have the slightest incline that something isn't right, get yourself to the doctor and demand that he exhausts all options and books you in for a colonoscopy/endoscopy and do not be afraid of the procedures because they are so straight forward and painless you'd regret not having them done.
An endoscopy is a more unpleasant experience but again, it's not bad. If you don't take the sedative it is uncomfortable but not painful in the slightest.
Final word; if you have the slightest incline that something isn't right, get yourself to the doctor and demand that he exhausts all options and books you in for a colonoscopy/endoscopy and do not be afraid of the procedures because they are so straight forward and painless you'd regret not having them done.
Soldato
My numbers are way off?
From hazy memory I suggested eating lots of bacon increases your chances of bowel cancer to 1 in 25 (4 in 100), and you're telling me that real figures indicate that people actually get bowel cancer at a (wildly different?!) rate of 1 in 20?
I wasn't disputing the link between processed meat and bowel cancer, just disputing how heavy a burden such meat consumption actually is.