23/10/2024
On the 10th September I was officially diagnosed with bowel cancer.
I debated whether I tell my story, but I came to the conclusion this is something that needs to be shared.
Most of this year I had been consistently fatigued, had difficulty concentrating, trouble getting to sleep - I couldn’t shake this no matter how well I was eating and sticking to an exercise routine. I picked up 101 viruses this winter - 3 times turning into a chest infection, influenza A, gastro - you name it I got it. I knew all of this wasn’t normal, something had to be going on.
I saw my GP and had some blood tests done; it was found my thyroid levels were very high, indicating I have hyperthyroidism, along with extremely low iron levels. I was referred to an endocrinologist to have more tests including an ultrasound and a nuclear uptake scan, which confirmed I have Thyroid Nodular Disease. There is a hyperfunctioning 4cm nodule on my thyroid gland, causing it to work overtime; increasing my metabolic rate and energy expenditure. This alone explains all of the symptoms I was experiencing and I thought my problems would be solved once I began treatment, finally some answers and relief!
Before giving the go-ahead for an iron infusion, my GP sent me for more tests to determine why my iron levels were so low. I thought he was being ridiculous and I put off the tests for a few weeks. I eventually did them, and it showed there was blood present in all my stool samples and calprotectin (a bowel inflammation marker) was quite high, so I was referred to a gastroenterologist for an urgent colonoscopy and endoscopy as I was bleeding into my bowel.
Expecting to find some evidence of colitis or IBD in my colonoscopy, instead a singular 4cm ‘polyp’ was found. For context, any polyp over 1cm is considered large and I immediately knew it wasn’t that simple. Several biopsies were taken during the procedure and I was sent for an abdominal CT scan the next day. I was originally booked for a follow up with my gastroenterologist in 3 weeks, but once the results were back it was brought forward to the next day, so I knew it probably wasn’t great news. (*Cont in comments)
