Pancreatic c****r Fear

[buzzy 0]

Ok here we go. 

Hopefully some of you will read this and weigh in.

About a month ago I made the mistake of looking at my stool and I have been fighting my hypochondria ever since.

When I looked at my stool it was almost white.  It sunk, was solid and didn't smell but was very pale.  I made the mistake of googling and went down a health anxiety rabbit hole I'm still in.

I have had stomach discomfort on my right side for well over a year. It's not painful, just irritating, like an itch deep inside I can't get to.  Usually it's high near my lower ribs but sometimes moves around to other areas on the right side.

Since that initial kickstart, I have been conscience of my stools.  They haven't been white since but are mostly floaters, and light brown/tannish in color.  Sometimes they are mixed in with a sinker or two in the same stool and every once in a while one will refuse to go down on the first flush.  All of this adds to my PC fear.

The last few days I am convincing myself that my eyes are yellowing, mainly in the inside corners.  No one has mentioned it to me but I check constantly.  

Now the good news, because of two fall kidney stone episodes this fall that ended in the emergency rooms I have had an abundance test since July.

Late July:. Kidney Stone trip to ER.  CT scan showed two stones, a lesion on my kidney and a 6mm no calcified nodule in lower left lung.  It also showed liver, spleen and pancreas to be normal. Urine and blood test were good.

Early August: Ultrasound showed kidney lesion was a cyst.  Also noted normal pancreas and liver.

Late Sept.: 2nd Kidney Stone trip to ER.  CT showed another stone and what looked like another lesion in kidney.  Interestingly the radiologist did not mention the lung nodule, which was puzzling to my GP.  Urine and blood test were normal.  Pancreas, spleen and liver listed as unremarkable.

Late Oct: urologists ordered MRI with contrast to check kidney lesions.  Both came back as cysts.  Radiologist noted pancreas, liver and spleen showed 'no worrisome findings's  

Early November: surgery to remove 5mm stone from ureter.  Blood test and urine test were good.

Late November, the pale stool showed up and began my PC worries.

My GP is a good man.  When I called about my fear after the stool he went back and looked at all my test and said he found it hard to believe that all those test would have missed pancreatic c****r if it was lurking. He said as long as my stools had a brown shade and my urine was clear I was most likely fine.  I have not mentioned my fear of jaundice in the corners of my eyes yet.

Hopefully he's right and I'm obsessing about nothing.

I go back in March /April for a CT to check on lung nodule.  Hopefully it's gone.

In addition to all my fall test, I had a colonscopy and endoscopy in the spring of 2015.  It came back clean although my gastroenologist did prescribe daily omoprozele for heartburn.

if you've read all of this, thank you so much.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my fears.

 

[JOYCICLE 654]

You got everything checked and everything is good

So you gotta make a deal with yourself. If I resist looking in the toilet, I am allowed to do ' xyz', whatever is a nice treat for you. Make that the new habit and it'll be hard to do at first but you 'll get used to it. Just flush and count to 10 seconds and then it'll be too late to look and you 'll have no idea what happened.  Because the truth is even though you are looking, you have no idea what's going on. Any information you got online is not as accurate as the information you got from the dr who saw your body and your blood and tested it.

 

[buzzy 0]

I am again having the upper abdominal pain and pale stools.

The ache is pretty consistent.  The stools come and go although they have been pretty pale the past few days.

[Ihadcancer 321]

Have you ever been tested for gallstones?  Gallbladder stones can cause pale stools. The area you're pointing out  is the gall bladder area and the pain can be very bad and can come and go.  Mine felt like back spasms.  

Float or sink?  It depends on who you ask!  Vegetarians claim one thing and huge meat eaters another. Float or sink can depend on the amount of air in your gut or how much fat you eat. No big deal either way.  

Lung nodules are usually not mentioned again,  unless they've grown or are a large size.  There's a whole chart by the Fleisher Society that instructs radiologists about them. I have 3 that I've had for at least 8 years. Each radiologist measures them differently but they've never grown. I was told it could be from inhaling a grain of sand, choking on a bit of food, old infection, etc.  

Yellow eyes:  The corner of almost everyone's eyes are slightly yellow, especially if you're tired or eyes are irritated.  People with dark skin tend to have more yellow in their eyes, too.  If this were jaundice, your gums would also be yellow and your skin almost orange.  I personally have many friends with VERY advanced c****r in their livers and one who just had part of his pancreas removed and not ONE has yellow eyes. NOT ONE!  

Your blood work and other tests rule out pancreatic concerns.  I have a small cyst on my pancreas from a horrible bout with gallstones.  It's been there for years and not grown. NO discomfort.  

Ask for an ultrasound of your gallbladder. They're quick, easy and they have the answer immediately. When I had emergency gallbladder surgery, I was in surgery a short time, home within an hour or so and went shopping at Wal-Mart that night.  They glued me shut. Teeny, tiny hole.  

[buzzy 0]

Thank you so much for the reply.

My urologist ordered an utlrasound in late december to make sure everything was healing right after my stent removal from kidney stone surgery.  I told my GP and he ordered a complete abdominal ultrasound dedicated to looking at the kidney.

The results came back as clean.  No inflammation or infection of gallbladder.  No masses.  Kidneys, spleen and pancreas all checked out as normal or unremarkable.

I'm not sure what is causing my stools but it's probably not the gallbladder.  I just hope all the scans didn't miss something as big as pancreatic c.  All logical thought tells me that at least one of the scans would have picked something up if it was something bad with the pancreas, yet my mind still worries causing high anxiety.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post.

[utrocket09 115]

If you had something like pancreatic c, you would be in terrible pain and have yellowing of skin and eyes most likely. I knew someone whose husband had it, and believe me they get sick as a dog.

[Ihadcancer 321]

Stool color is based on many things.  Foods, medications and something like a Tums can change your stool.  Little kids have crazy color stools when mom gives them juice that is mostly food coloring.  

Omeprazole can cause abnormal stool colors, especially if taken on an empty stomach. 

Two years ago I had maroon stool. (I'm Stage IVa Colon c****r).  It freaked me out for a few minutes but then I remembered that I'd eaten a few pieces of Red Velvet Cake for my birthday the day before.  

I eat loads of broccoli and sweet potatoes, asparagus, etc.  I sometimes have blue green pee from all the Vit. B I consume in foods.  Eat enough sweet potatoes and your skin can turn orange. Harmless. 

When something happens one time, ignore it.  If you were ill with pancreatitis (very painful, hospital type pain) or pancreatic issues, it wouldn't be a 'one time a year ago' type event.  

I have 2 church friends who've had pancreatic c****r. Both had the slow growing kind and both were discovered when they went for ultrasounds for gallstones expecting gallbladder removal.  They had surgery, no chemo and are still alive 8 and 9 years later.  In fact, Ray was in church within 2 weeks of his surgery.  

Would you write down every bit of food you've eaten for the last 3 days, plus today and any medications you've taken?  I'll bet you're going to find a lot of light colored foods.  Light is not white. White doesn't come and go.  

[buzzy 0]

Someone help calm me down.

It's been nearly a year since my original post on this topic.  I've had my ups and downs with it but have been doing really, really great the past few months.

I've still had a little ache under ribs every once in a while.  I've had loose stools on occasion, light brown stools a lot, but also more than a few stools that I would call good solid brown normal ones.  I had pretty much put most of the fear out of my mind.

Last night when I got home I used the bathroom and when I went to flush my fears immediately escalated when I saw a nearly pure white stool.  It wasn't just one smallish piece like last time.  It was well formed, long and white, almost toilet bowl white.

i went again this morning and things seemed to be getting back to normal with a lot more brown in my stool.  Pretty much my normal light brown color.

I can't think of anything I ate that was different than normal and can't think of any different medications or drinks over the past few days.

I'm trying to ease my mind after this mornings stool having some color in it.  I'm also trying hard not to go down the Google rabbit hole.  It does nothing good for me.

My question is, should this be a concern if I feel good and haven't had a white stool in about a year?

This site and your insights here have been a blessing to me whenever my anxiety kicks in.  I would appreciate any comments or insight on this.

thank you all.

[Angelica Schuyler 217]

I would think that, if there were a significant problem with your pancreas, that your stool would always be white. If your stools are almost always brown otherwise, your digestive system is working correctly the majority of the time, if not all of the time. The white one is probably a fluke, especially having gone so long without one. Bodies are weird!

[Bobnnat 496]

Buzzy, when a person has PC, and symptoms start, they are relentless. Unfortunately the downfall is fast and furious. A friend from childhood died recently from this and it was fast. It has been a year since your first post. Believe me, if this was PC you would know it. In fact the survival time for untreated PC is measured in weeks.  The stools might just be normal for you. Things change in our bodies over time for no rhyme or reason.  You need to let this go.

Bob

[Bailey 1]

I can totally relate to what you are going through, but I agree with the above that you would probably not be around any longer if you had PC. My friend's father passed away less than a year after diagnosis. Prior to his diagnosis,  he lost a significant amount of weight in less than two months and was in constant pain. He was also yellow due to jaundice. Although I understand your fears completely, I think you are fine. You have had extensive tests to check many major organs and all was well. I am currently afraid I have liver cancer due to recurring pain in my ribs, back, shoulder, arm, and upper abdomen. A trip to the ER and a few tests declared I was fine, but I'm not convinced. Anyway, I think you are fine but I do understand your fears.