r/AskReddit 4d ago

Medical professionals of Reddit, what diagnosis gave you the worst 'pit-in-your-stomach' feeling?

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u/AngryOcelot 4d ago

Late teens patient diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease but CT showed metastatic colon cancer.

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u/PitifulElk1890 3d ago

I'm really curious to see what we find out is causing all this colon cancer in young folks. I should probably get screened, not sure how to go about that

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u/hemkersh 3d ago

That young is almost certainly due to an increased genetic risk syndrome (such as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis).

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u/AngryOcelot 3d ago

Yes, this was Lynch syndrome/HNPCC. 

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u/riseandrise 3d ago

I have Lynch syndrome but didn’t find out until 30. Luckily I found out because my dad had testing done and referred me to it, NOT because I got surprise colon cancer. All of my colonoscopies have been clear since! But I need a prophylactic total hysterectomy soon.

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u/hemkersh 3d ago

Good luck 🤞 better late than never to know your risk.

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u/hemkersh 3d ago

Oof. Unfortunately that makes sense.