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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Severe Stomach Ache And Abdominal Gas?

My daughter is 46 very slender but suffers from chronic stomach pain and has had colonoscopies x2. IBS, Diverticulosis, gastritis have all been discussed with her doctor. Two years ago she was at the ER for severe stomach (gas pains she calls them) no dx at that time. A few days ago she had another such attack and her PCP today stated that her labs show that she is losing blood and is anemic #5 should be #50 per PCP, she is scheduled to see a gastroenterologist (which she has seen in the past). QUESTION: Could this be indicative of colon cancer. (she has had benigh polyps in the past). What else could it be?
Fri, 11 Nov 2016
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Short answer: Yes, it could be cancer, but that's not at the top of the list.

Long answer:

Hi there,

I understand your concern, and the anaemia together with the chronic stomach pains can be due to quite a few things. One of the most common causes is actually bleeding from a stomach ulcer, instead of cancer. She could also be bleeding from the diverticulosis, or if they haven't checked her blood counts in a long while it could be a slow decline due to poor nutrition from malabsorption.

Yes, polyps increase her risk of getting colon cancer (but they would probably have been removed at the time), other risks to consider are if you have colon cancer in the family, if she smokes, or drinks heavily, or has poor diet with high fats/red meat/preserved foods.

It is reassuring that she has had colonoscopies done before, especially if it is fairly recent in the past year or so, but your doctor might propose a repeat one on top of an upper endoscopy, to look for bleeding in the stomach. The might even suggest a CT scan to look at other abdominal organs, if everything else doesn't quite seem to fit. Be upfront with him about your concerns regarding colon cancer, then it can be addressed accordingly.

Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your daughter.

Regards,
Dr. Teh
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What Causes Severe Stomach Ache And Abdominal Gas?

Short answer: Yes, it could be cancer, but that s not at the top of the list. Long answer: Hi there, I understand your concern, and the anaemia together with the chronic stomach pains can be due to quite a few things. One of the most common causes is actually bleeding from a stomach ulcer, instead of cancer. She could also be bleeding from the diverticulosis, or if they haven t checked her blood counts in a long while it could be a slow decline due to poor nutrition from malabsorption. Yes, polyps increase her risk of getting colon cancer (but they would probably have been removed at the time), other risks to consider are if you have colon cancer in the family, if she smokes, or drinks heavily, or has poor diet with high fats/red meat/preserved foods. It is reassuring that she has had colonoscopies done before, especially if it is fairly recent in the past year or so, but your doctor might propose a repeat one on top of an upper endoscopy, to look for bleeding in the stomach. The might even suggest a CT scan to look at other abdominal organs, if everything else doesn t quite seem to fit. Be upfront with him about your concerns regarding colon cancer, then it can be addressed accordingly. Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your daughter. Regards, Dr. Teh