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What Causes A Lump In The Lower Left Abdomen?
Question: Hello im a 20 year old female , I have a lump in my lower left abdomen , I had a internal exam for my womb and she said that area feels all fine.
The lump sort of feels long, sausage/tubular like and quite hard , also its horizontal
Sometimes it feels smaller than other times and sometimes I can't find it at all, however it is there more than its not. I first noticed it 4 months ago
It was never painful before, but Since then I havnt been able to stop poking and prodding and it has become painful in that area, particularly when Im active, my bowel habits have changed since I started prodding about, also I went from having a bowel movment to once every 3 days to one a day
You cant see the lump from the outside , I only feel it when I press down
Scared that this is bowel cancer
My GP has felt and thinks im feeling my stool but I dont believe that , there would be no pain if it was stool, or is it possible were im prodding and poking so much im causing issues ?
The lump sort of feels long, sausage/tubular like and quite hard , also its horizontal
Sometimes it feels smaller than other times and sometimes I can't find it at all, however it is there more than its not. I first noticed it 4 months ago
It was never painful before, but Since then I havnt been able to stop poking and prodding and it has become painful in that area, particularly when Im active, my bowel habits have changed since I started prodding about, also I went from having a bowel movment to once every 3 days to one a day
You cant see the lump from the outside , I only feel it when I press down
Scared that this is bowel cancer
My GP has felt and thinks im feeling my stool but I dont believe that , there would be no pain if it was stool, or is it possible were im prodding and poking so much im causing issues ?
Brief Answer:
Farther tests need to be done
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX and thank you for asking Healthcaremagic.
I have gone through your report and I understand your concern.
The lump that you feel doesn't always mean a bad thing.
Bowel cancer has other symptoms like: weight loss, nausea, anorexia, blood in stools, mucus in stools ect. With just the lump as a symptom,we should not jump in the conclusion that it is cancer. I assume you don't have any other symptom.
So don't worry.
Now what it might be? Well it might be stools passing through your colon. But since your physician felt the same thing,i suggest that we investigate in this.
It might be ovarian cyst, but your OB/GYN ruled out any problems.
If i was your caring doctor i would recommend one of these exams.
-CT scan of your abdomen (with oral contrast)
-colonoscopy (depending from the results of the CT)
-blood tests
I have no reason to think that this is cancer, but it will make sure that you have nothing to be worried. So do these tests just to know that there is nothing wrong with you or with your body.
Wishing you good health.
For any other question,don't hesitate to contact me.
Dr.Endri Katro
Farther tests need to be done
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX and thank you for asking Healthcaremagic.
I have gone through your report and I understand your concern.
The lump that you feel doesn't always mean a bad thing.
Bowel cancer has other symptoms like: weight loss, nausea, anorexia, blood in stools, mucus in stools ect. With just the lump as a symptom,we should not jump in the conclusion that it is cancer. I assume you don't have any other symptom.
So don't worry.
Now what it might be? Well it might be stools passing through your colon. But since your physician felt the same thing,i suggest that we investigate in this.
It might be ovarian cyst, but your OB/GYN ruled out any problems.
If i was your caring doctor i would recommend one of these exams.
-CT scan of your abdomen (with oral contrast)
-colonoscopy (depending from the results of the CT)
-blood tests
I have no reason to think that this is cancer, but it will make sure that you have nothing to be worried. So do these tests just to know that there is nothing wrong with you or with your body.
Wishing you good health.
For any other question,don't hesitate to contact me.
Dr.Endri Katro
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
my doctor felt the lump and said that she thinks its stool, but wont do any tests because she said she is quite confident that it isn't anything bad. But I think it is.
I have had blood tests, I had one 4 months ago , one two months ago and one a week ago, all have come back normal.
my question is if this was cancer that had possibly spread, would it be likely my blood results would be off?
I do have other symptoms such as change in bowel habit. it starts off formed then becomes 'mushy'
I have seen various different doctors and they all seem to be not worrying about it but I think it is cancer, I cant see what else it would be
thanks
XXXX
I have had blood tests, I had one 4 months ago , one two months ago and one a week ago, all have come back normal.
my question is if this was cancer that had possibly spread, would it be likely my blood results would be off?
I do have other symptoms such as change in bowel habit. it starts off formed then becomes 'mushy'
I have seen various different doctors and they all seem to be not worrying about it but I think it is cancer, I cant see what else it would be
thanks
XXXX
Brief Answer:
Low chance of Cancer
Detailed Answer:
Hello again XXXXXXX
According to your question that if it was a spread cancer. Yes there would be changes in your blood tests. Anemia is a symptom in these cases (low red cells count)
Changes in the bowel habit is a symptom of cancer,but there are a lot of other reasons like stress, polyp of colon, changes in the bacterial flora of colon ect.
Lipoma (excessive amount of fat) is another option. So don't jump on conclusions that it is cancer.
Now listen carefully and i will explain where are the parts that we can touch/feel the stools in our body. We can feel the stools ONLY in our colon (large intestine) because in this part of the gastrointestinal tract,water is assimilated and stools are harden.
It is in our right lower quadrant,right quadrant,upper right quadrant, just under the stomach area (between the umbilicus and where the stomach is) upper left quadrant,left quadrant and left lower quadrant. Than slightly under our umbilicus (rarely)
In most of the times,since water is assimilated more,the stools can be felt in our left part of the abdomen.
Now,if your doctor or you feel this lump in the parts that i described,than yes it can be to stools. BUT this lump should not be felt for a lot of days at the same position,because stools move.
If i was your caring doctor i would suggest and do a CT scan just to be sure that you are ok. As I said before, if the results are normal,than you have nothing to be worried and you can move on with your life without thinking any more of it.
If your doctor don't want to appoint you for a CT scan than another option is:
- the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) . This test can be done easily and it shows if there are traces of blood or not. It is not specific for cancer,but usually cancers,polyp of the colon leave traces of red blood cells in the stools.
-Ultrasound of your abdomen (not pelvic area) would give information about the lump or the area where you feel your lump.
Another option is to consult a surgeon. A physical exam of your abdomen done by a surgeon will give a lot of information about everything. Surgeons are used with every kind of lumps in our body and they can tell if there are signs of tumor or not when they do this exam.
My opinion is that you should not worry about it now unless the diagnosis is confirmed.
Remember I will answer at all your questions,so if you have any other,just ask.
If i helped you in any way, please whenever you feel:
1-Rate/comment this query
2-If you are satisfy and don't have any other questions,close the query.
Regards.
Dr.Endri Katro
Low chance of Cancer
Detailed Answer:
Hello again XXXXXXX
According to your question that if it was a spread cancer. Yes there would be changes in your blood tests. Anemia is a symptom in these cases (low red cells count)
Changes in the bowel habit is a symptom of cancer,but there are a lot of other reasons like stress, polyp of colon, changes in the bacterial flora of colon ect.
Lipoma (excessive amount of fat) is another option. So don't jump on conclusions that it is cancer.
Now listen carefully and i will explain where are the parts that we can touch/feel the stools in our body. We can feel the stools ONLY in our colon (large intestine) because in this part of the gastrointestinal tract,water is assimilated and stools are harden.
It is in our right lower quadrant,right quadrant,upper right quadrant, just under the stomach area (between the umbilicus and where the stomach is) upper left quadrant,left quadrant and left lower quadrant. Than slightly under our umbilicus (rarely)
In most of the times,since water is assimilated more,the stools can be felt in our left part of the abdomen.
Now,if your doctor or you feel this lump in the parts that i described,than yes it can be to stools. BUT this lump should not be felt for a lot of days at the same position,because stools move.
If i was your caring doctor i would suggest and do a CT scan just to be sure that you are ok. As I said before, if the results are normal,than you have nothing to be worried and you can move on with your life without thinking any more of it.
If your doctor don't want to appoint you for a CT scan than another option is:
- the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) . This test can be done easily and it shows if there are traces of blood or not. It is not specific for cancer,but usually cancers,polyp of the colon leave traces of red blood cells in the stools.
-Ultrasound of your abdomen (not pelvic area) would give information about the lump or the area where you feel your lump.
Another option is to consult a surgeon. A physical exam of your abdomen done by a surgeon will give a lot of information about everything. Surgeons are used with every kind of lumps in our body and they can tell if there are signs of tumor or not when they do this exam.
My opinion is that you should not worry about it now unless the diagnosis is confirmed.
Remember I will answer at all your questions,so if you have any other,just ask.
If i helped you in any way, please whenever you feel:
1-Rate/comment this query
2-If you are satisfy and don't have any other questions,close the query.
Regards.
Dr.Endri Katro
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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