They called my name and I left the waiting room. The nurse or aid took a set of vital signs and asked me some questions: Do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you have any pain? Do you have any diarrhea? Do you have any family history of colon cancer? These were the same types of questions they had asked me over the phone when I called to make an appointment. They seemed not to believe me. That or they thought something really bad was wrong with me. I could tell by the looks on their faces and the way they got quiet after I answered the questions. They looked puzzled and concerned.
I visited with a physician's assistant who again asked the same questions. He also did an exam which included my laying on the exam table while he poked around on my abdomen. The only pain I had was a slight discomfort in the lower part of my belly, the area of my bladder. After he asked the questions and did the exam the time came for explaining a diagnosis. The first thing he said was something like, 'Well, it can't be cancer because you're too young for that.' Did he seriously just say that? To me that meant that the first thing he thought of was cancer, and that he was ruling it out solely on the basis of my age. Deep down I knew he thought it sounded like cancer and this bothered me. He then explained the 2 things he thought this likely was: Diverticulitis or Crohn's Disease. I had heard of these, but didn't really know what they were.
He explained that Diverticulitis is caused by a bunch of little pockets in the Large Intestines, which become inflamed at times and can bleed. I later found out that that disease is much more common in the elderly. Crohn's Disease is basically inflammation of some portion of the digestive tract (from the mouth to the anus) which can start to bleed. Surgery is usually avoided unless perforation is suspected or believed to be imminent, because you need your digestive tract, and if they cut out the affected portion, Crohn's will return in another area. After the explanations, lab tests were ordered, just in case it was a parasite. I was also scheduled for a colonoscopy. That was a test that I don't think my dad had even had, I was feeling really old.
I visited with a physician's assistant who again asked the same questions. He also did an exam which included my laying on the exam table while he poked around on my abdomen. The only pain I had was a slight discomfort in the lower part of my belly, the area of my bladder. After he asked the questions and did the exam the time came for explaining a diagnosis. The first thing he said was something like, 'Well, it can't be cancer because you're too young for that.' Did he seriously just say that? To me that meant that the first thing he thought of was cancer, and that he was ruling it out solely on the basis of my age. Deep down I knew he thought it sounded like cancer and this bothered me. He then explained the 2 things he thought this likely was: Diverticulitis or Crohn's Disease. I had heard of these, but didn't really know what they were.
He explained that Diverticulitis is caused by a bunch of little pockets in the Large Intestines, which become inflamed at times and can bleed. I later found out that that disease is much more common in the elderly. Crohn's Disease is basically inflammation of some portion of the digestive tract (from the mouth to the anus) which can start to bleed. Surgery is usually avoided unless perforation is suspected or believed to be imminent, because you need your digestive tract, and if they cut out the affected portion, Crohn's will return in another area. After the explanations, lab tests were ordered, just in case it was a parasite. I was also scheduled for a colonoscopy. That was a test that I don't think my dad had even had, I was feeling really old.
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