I'm 18 years old. can i have colon cancer?

I just had an exam to see if i had hemorroids, because i had rectal bleedin for a few years and thats what i thought it was! well i didnt have any! they are doing the colonoscopy in a few weeks. I am so scared! I have always been perfectly healthy.

Colon cancer is quite rare among those under the age of 60. This is why colon cancer screening with colonoscopy is recommended for the 50 and older set. This allows plenty of time to detect those pre-cancerous lesions.

There are some unusual genetic disorders, however, that can lead to early colon cancer. These fortunately are very rare.

A more likely diagnosis in a young person with regular rectal bleeding is one of the Inflammatory Bowel diseases. These are chronic diseases that are treated over a life-time.

Regardless of the cause, rectal bleeding, whatever the cause- from hemorrhoids, to anal fissures, to polyps, is not normal and needs to be evaluated. The good news is that colonscopy is safe and will give you an answer quickly.

Best of luck.

it's possible but not very likely at your age.

You are really young and it would be really unusual for you to have colon cancer. There are so many gastrointestinal disorders it could one of any number of things. You could have colon polyps (these are usually hereditary and you might have a family history of them, if they "break" off, it could cause rectal bleeding), Crohn's disease, colitis and a whole host of other conditions. I'm sure everything will be fine and I will pray for you!

It's not impossible, but it is so unlikely it would be silly to worry about it. (You have about a 1 in 76,000 chance of being struck by lightning...hopefully that doesn't stop you going outside when it's raining!)

A colonoscopy is hardly a "pleasant" experience, but it's no big deal, either. The prep is worse than the procedure. You've got be "empty", LOL!

They will give you two drugs, one to relax you, and one to interfere with your short-term memory during the procedure, so when you "wake-up" afterwards you won't remember a thing.

Another good reason not be be scared is that in the worst possible scenario, maybe you do have colon cancer, and if you do, it's one of the easiest cancers to fix!



Best wishes...

cancer dont pick you by your age ...it is scary but you are getting it checked out thats a good thing ive been going through all the treatment now for 2 years .. not colon ,,,but mine started out as breast then bone now brain.. so i do wish you good luck

It is good that you are having this checked out, but it is rare for an 18 year old to have colon cancer. It can happen, but not likely. Certain ages are more susceptible to certain types of cancer and colon cancer in general happens to older people.

Here is a video of a 17 year old girl who was diagnosed with colon cancer, so it can happen:

http://www.webmd.com/video/kids-with-col...

Teens and young adults are more likely to get the following types of cancer. Most of these types of cancer are associated with the hormonal changes of puberty, growth, and sex. :

1. Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes)

2. Leukemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow)

3. Germ cell tumors (special cells in a developing embryo that become the testes in males and the ovaries in females)

4. Melanoma (skin cancer)

5. Thyroid cancer (cancer that begins in the thyroid gland, which is located in the front of the neck)

6. Soft tissue sarcoma (cancer in supportive and connective tissue such as fat, muscle, nerves, tendons, joints, blood vessels, and lymph nodes).

Best wishes to you and I hope it is not cancer.