Hello;
Thank you for writing in today. I understand your concern. I may be able to ease some of your concern; however, I do have a few questions. I hope you understand.
Does your husband have any other medical conditions?
Does your husband have any stomach complaints or bowel complaints?
Has your husband ever been diagnosed with anemia or concerned about blood in his stools?
Has your husband ever done the fecal occult blood testing---places stool on a card an mails in to a lab or drops off at doctor's office? If so, how often?
Is your husband's diet high in fruits and veggies?
Is his diet high in fat or red meat?
Any family history of colon cancer?
Please let me know.
Lisa
Thank you for responding.
Yes, colonoscopy screenings are recommended to begin earlier. This screening may have been overlooked by the provider, or it may have been mentioned earlier but disregarded. At any rate, the important thing is to have the test done now. Based on his information, other than a less than ideal diet and weight, he does not have any real red flags that suggest colon cancer. A family history of colon cancer, changes in bowel habits, and any history of blood in the stools would be very concerning and possible indications of cancer. It is a good sign that he has none of these concerns. Also, although not as good as a colonoscopy, the fecal occult testing is also important for screening. It is also a good sign that he did these tests without any concerning results.
At this point, he needs the colonoscopy; however, I would not be too concerned about colon cancer at this point.
I hope this helps. If you have additional questions and concerns, please let me know.
Do you know how long someone can have colon cancer without there being any signs or symptoms?
Generally, colon cancer progresses slowly. Usually, colon cancer is quite advanced before a patient has any real symptoms, or the patient will have a history of vague abdominal complaints and bowel habit changes. It usually takes several years for colon cancer to grow and develop before symptoms.
I hope this helps.
I tend to use statistics from medical literature; however, I did try to find some resources available to you online. I do want to caution you about using online resources. With health resources, it is important to consider the source. Therefore, I will provide you with links for colorectal cancer statistics from the American Cancer Society (ACS), Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Cancer Institute. All are reputable organizations.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_colon_and_rectum_cancer.asp?rnav=cri
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/statistics/
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/colon-and-rectal
Nurse Practitioner
Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner