I'm worried my dad has colon cancer.
by warren
(USA)
Hello there I was hoping you could answer a question for me about colon cancer and colonoscopy. If not, that's OK. I know you're probably pretty busy. My Dad (age 71) has been going in for colonoscopies every three years and is due for another next month. His colonoscopies in 2004 and 2007 were normal.
I figured the doctor only has him in for a colonoscopy every three years because I was told that colon cancer is very slow growing and couldn?t get too far in three years. That made sense, so I thought nothing more of it. However, just this summer, a friend of our family, who had no family history of colon cancer, had a colonoscopy and they found caner.
The surgeon says she had probably had the tumor for about a year. She had surgery to remove the tumor, which had already spread to one lymph node, and we thought all was well. But last week, the doctor told her she had Stage III cancer and would have a CAT scan to see if it had spread to the liver. In which case, she said, it would be Stage IV cancer.
So, my question is, how in the world could someone go from no cancer at all to Stage IV cancer in only one year? And if that's possible, why is my Dad having colonoscopies only every three years?! Is the doctor wrong in my Dad?s case? How worried should I be about his upcoming colonoscopy? I thought the reason he was getting these tests, was so the colon cancer could be caught early if it happens and cured.
But if it can go from nothing to Stage IV in a year, what is the point of a colonoscopy every three years. And my Dad's mother died of colon cancer at the age of 87 (and the doctor knows that), so I'm all the more worried.
Anything you could say to clear up my confusion might help put my mind at ease. However, please tell me the truth. Don't try to spare my feelings. If you got this far in my long letter, I thank you so much for taking the time to read it and I hope to hear from you. But if you can't reply, that's quite OK, too. I understand. All the best
Regards
