Hi,
My sister (42) was diagnosed with rectal cancer.
I also had seen maroon red blood in the bowl, and my blood test result came back saying I have anaemia which later was said to be due to my thalassemia trait.
I had a colonoscopy done in October, and the scope reached to the ilium. However, I still had hard stool on the left, right and sigmoid colon, so I was asked to do it again.
I waited for the appointment which finally arrived with two days notice the day I was going holiday which had to be cancelled. I just received my next appointment in two weeks time.
After the colonoscopy, I was assured that although it needs to be done again, they couldn’t see anything.
1. I wanted to ask if thalassemia can be mistaken for iron deficiency anaemia which is one of the signs of colon cancer
2. I understand you can’t say for sure, but how likely is it that someone can miss cancer due to the hard stool as it would be raised? Also, it entered all the way going past the transverse colon.
Please answer in many details as I’m really worried. Are there any other tests I could do faster or to avoid another colonoscopy?
Thank you in advance
Age: 38
Male
Medications: None
