u/ThatGhost_

Hello everyone, I (19F) have a major history of all kinds of cancers on my mom's side. It has never truly frightened me that I might have inherited genes related to all these cancers; lung, colorectal, ovarian, breast cancer etc.

Last year I started having troubles with my bowel movements so horribly that my intestines were swollen so much after 2 weeks of pain and thinking it'd pass on its own, that the ultrasound tech couldn't see my appendix (I haven't had mine removed). This was a crappy experience but I believed it was a once off, this however turned out to not be true, since the first time this happened in January of last year, it has recurred at least 5 or 6 times total (every few months). I thought my stomach was being whack, but for months now I have had unexplained abdominal pain, bone pains, fatigue and overall tiredness and a plethora of other unexplained symptoms. I have gone for bloodwork, for ultrasounds, etc. and everything comes back clean.

So to understand my cancer concern, we discovered my sister has a gene that my mom's uncle had (ultimately lead to his death sadly), which she inherited from my mom, which increases the odds of developing colorectal cancer/cancerous polyps in the colon and rest of the intestine. Our family doctor thinks there's a high likelihood I have inherited this same gene.

So it's been over a month of me not having regular stools, it's been constant constipation or diarrhea; sorry for tmi but each time I wipe even if it's constipation, the residue on the TP is always gooey which is abnormal for me, I started having migraines a couple months ago which isn't something I used to experience frequently at all, but it has become almost a daily guarantee, I feel constantly tired and unmotivated to do things, I randomly get nauseous and have to lie down, I am in constant on and off lower abdominal pain and it has become hard to function as I'm doing my final year of high school (I took 2 gap years)

I saw the doctor last week Monday and I told her I haven't had a regular stool in over a month and the look on her face kind of concerned me a bit. I would like to preface by saying that this has been my doctor since I was a premie, so that is the reason she doesn't always fully keep her expressions neutral. She has been our family doctor for over 20 years, so it's a bit different to her seeing a stranger. My mother made her aware of our discovery about the gene and I'll be honest, before my mother mentioned it, this woman seemed concerned. I know her well by now and I can tell when something is a small issue and when she thinks something is truly wrong and it looked like the latter. She told me she isn't going to prescribe anything because she doesn't know what is wrong with my stomach, though my intestines were swollen again. She then heard about the gene and was even more in support of her intial idea which is me having to get a colonoscopy. She also mentioned randomly how cancer patients are in the most denial out of all the patients she deals with (I understand this is just general talk since a cancer related gene was mentioned).

Even months prior I had been researching colorectal cancer when I had a plethora of correlating symptoms, it's like I know something is wrong with my body, but there's never truly any answer through the general medical tests I've been for. I want to be clear that I am not sitting here convinced I have cancer, but the concern is real for me for some reason. I have all of the symptoms but do understand that those symptoms could also be due to a million other conditions or health hiccups, the knowledge that a ton of different cancers are inherited in my family is what is making me more concerned at the possibility of my symptoms not being due to something else. Google isn't a medical professional, I just researched because I was getting nowhere in terms of answers at the time.

I have also been eating tons more than usual in the last few weeks and I was scared to see the number on the scale, but to my surprise, I hadn't gained even a 100g which just genuinely doesn't seem right to me. I also lost 1kg overnight.

My consultation is this week, but my colonoscopy might have to wait, because my exams are coming up. I was initially gonna go on the 29th of June, but discomfort, hella nausea (basically throwing up in my mouth at times) and pain have pushed me to call and ask for a much sooner date.

I am not convinced I have cancer, but I have broken down crying at random times throughout the week, having this unnerving feeling that I have cancer, but this could just be anxiety or the stress of not knowing what the issue at hand is. I have just been emotional and feeling worried that the issue isn't as small as everyone is hoping or preparing for it to be.

How do I know if I am overreacting in this situation or just thinking intrusively or being paranoid? Does anyone have advice?

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