My dad has had some blood in his stool, although not much. He originally though it was hemerroids which he battles often. He had a stool sample checked during a routine overall exam at the VA Medical Center. They confirmed blood in the stool about a month ago, then scheduled him for the colonoscopy.
From what they told him after the CT scan, the cancer doesn't appear to have spread to the organs and the lymph nodes looked good. Which is definitely reassuring.
My only concern at this point is whether they are continuing to move things along rapidly enough. An ultrasound is scheduled for the 4th of April and then he goes back on April 15th for a consultation with a "team" of surgeons. After that is when they schedule the surgery.
I haven't been able to find anything on the internet as to how quickly colon cancer spreads. The doctor told my dad last night that a few weeks won't matter - is he right? I know people have to be their own advocates, but we don't want to be unreasonable either.
The fact that my dad is going to the VA Medical Center and not getting any second opinions was a little bit of a concern as well, but I truly hope that what I've heard so far on the VA surgeons being very good is correct.
