Odin Mk 3

I would like to add my condolences for your sad loss. I can echo what everyone has said about not going to the Doctor; here I speak from experience.

Just over five years ago I had been working for a short while in Egypt. I was fine while I was there (both my colleagues had not been quite so lucky) but on returning home I had a bit of jippy tummy - probably just re-adjusting to different water supply or whatever. Frequent trips to the heads (bathroom) for a few days but nothing too serious. However I noticed I was passing some fresh blood and having previously had a minor problem with piles I was tempted to ignore it. Fortunately I didn't and went to see my doctor. She thought it wasn't piles and referred me to the hospital for a colonoscopy. They found a small poluyp and took a sample. Initial tests showed it was benign but they repeated the colonoscopy and removed as much as they could. Repeat tests showed it wasn't benign and as a result I was told I had bowel cancer (on the day I had just been to the funeral of a friend who had died of bowel cancer - he had left it too late to get treatment). I had to have a bowel resection and the histology showed it was just started to invade the lymph system; six months of chemotheraphy followed. However five years later I'm still here and with regular tests each year, hopefully clear of the big C. I had asked the surgeon at one point if my earlier piles had actually been this same problem. His reply was quite clear - no you would have been dead by now!

Hopefully me sharing this experience with you (the worst year of my life) will help others make the right decision. Look after yourselves and don't ignore any changes, however trivial, go to the doctor.

Sorry again Brian for your loss.