I avoid exams that involve my privates at all costs.

Shellz, you have every right to refuse treatment for any illness, but colon and rectal cancer have a nearly 98% survival and cure rate if caught early enough.

For me, it would be worth fighting for my life. (Although very little "fighting" is required for early colon or rectal cancer.) I'm important to a lot of people, they need me and I'm not ready to give up my life for a completely curable disease.

My MIL had cancerous polyps, which were first found from a occult rectal exam nearly 30 years ago. She had early treatment, which was nothing more than removing the polyps (no chemo or radiation required) was cured and went on with her life. Her father refused the treatment, or even to see a doctor and was killed by the exact same disease a good 40 years before he should have died.

It isn't like pancreatic or stage 4 lung cancer; It's one of those things that many feel is worth fighting. It's actually one of those cancers that has a very LOW chance of "getting you eventually." Most patients who find and treat it early survive and are totally cured.

I'm just saying, it's your choice, but make sure you know your odds before writing it off as an "incurable illness" it is everything but.

I'm with you on that! I've had some serious stomach issues incluing the awful and embarrassing IBS I usually DO NOT tell anybody in my life that I dealt with IBS, but that and the endo has caused me some serious problems. SO painful! I still have some small issues and there were many times where I'd get ill and be that way for an entire day. My intestines looked like they were literally trying to come out of my abdomen! When the pain happens, I can see something move in my stomach at the very bottom and a lot of times any pressure is very uncomfortable, even when my cat lays on my belly. I couldn't imagine what kind of problems a colonoscopy would cause. I really ain't at high risk of anything like that so I don't feel to bad refusing it.

Now as for cervical cancer and breast cancer, I'm extremely careful and like to keep as informed as possible. I never skip an exam and have had many breast exams because they've found lumps before and today she finally discovered that it's just cysts. I just like to be careful about those because girls get those cancers so young and I'm only 21. One reason I'm always up to date on my exams is because they have to do one every year when in order for me to stay on meds that help with endometriosis.

As for any kind of cervical cancers or HPV or breast cancers, I want to stay on top of that and if something were there, catch it early. I would absolutely prefer finding it early and having a small procedure like simply cutting or burning it, whatever, rather than wait until it's so progressed that I've no hope. Everyone's diff. though.

Pap smears always stir up some bad feelings for me. I can't figure out why it bothers me so badly, but it brings back yucky feelings from a past experience. I've had some upsets about it, but I usually keep it together while it's being done and with most of my GYN's, it's been as comfortable as something like that can be, but I've had some awful ones. I know that that's something that is necessary for someone my age and I'll suffer through a day of cramps and yucky past feelings of being violated, but not my booty! Today, I wasn't expecting them to try a rectal exam and I really flipped! My dr was very nice and handled it well and even apologized a million times for getting me so upset. Of course it wasn't bad since she let me refuse it, but with my being crappy from the past feelings I get when a pap is due, I was already on edge. Plus, that dr that told me I wouldn't leave her office a few years ago without a rectal exam really F'ed that up for me!

Switzerland, It's really relieving to know that I'm not the only one. I hate that you've had to be freaked like that too though No matter how much trust I had in someone, I would feel to violated with a rectal exam. I don't know why because I was not violated there, but the other hole instead! It's just something about it. I wouldn't even let my partner do anything rectal-ish to me if he ever wanted to. He would never, but trust would not make up for how it'd make me feel.

Yes, that's true. The men in my family, I don't think have ever had it yet. Then again, I highly doubt my dad would tell me if he did! Lol. He's a very nervous person like me so I could imagine him being in hysterics the same as I was. Lol. I really don't know why they would feel the need to test a healthy 21 yr old female for a rectal exam? It's not anything high risk for me so it was strange.

Also, I recently had a laporoscopic surgery and that was due to endometriosis so my entire uterus and all were checked out, no need for a rectal here.

I know that most everybody is uncomfortable during exams. Like I said, I'm really careful about my health and that is why I never miss a breast or pelvic exam, but you have to understand that being uncomfortable and having something traumatizing come back into your life, a part you are trying to get rid of, is reason enough to not put yourself through such a large amount of suffering. For some people, it's really *that* bad! Plus having a DOCTOR, someone who's supposed to be trustworthy and professional and not force you to do anything, actually make you have an exam is going to cause a big enough problem for a young girl to never want to go through it again.

During my 3 years of doctor visits then surgery for endo, I was never asked to have a rectal exam, even when my GYN told me I had IBS. They NEVER tried that except that one damn doctor who swore I had a cyst on my ovaries although it didn't show on ultra-sound she wasn't letting me go without that exam. That's never OK. I don't care what the hell somebody's certified in. A degree doesn't make you trustworthy.

Thank you! I'm not such a freak afterall

You are SO right. I agree with everything you said, MOST people who get cancer DO NOT have a "history of it in my family" of that particular cancer, so that doesn't protect you.

I think there's a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety and a lot of excuse making and selfsoothing when it comes to certain things like this.

Everyone is certainly entitled to refuse any test they don't want, but I doubt few of them really have spent a large amount of time with someone with end stage cancer (the kind you can actually smell on the patient, the metathesis has gotten so bad) nor had it themselves

30 seconds of a rectal exam is nothing compared to having to living through the actual treatment of advanced ano-rectal cancer. And seeing as these are some of the MOST treatable and curable cancers, I don't get it..... and I was also assaulted and abused myself.

As for IBS and colonoscopies; most people with IBS, especially severe IBS actually have to have colonsocopies to see what is going on and to rule out more severe and dangerous things. My mom has to have one every year or two, I go with her and although drinking that stuff isn't fun, she says (as do most patients I've worked with, although I don't work in GI) say the procedure didn't increase their symptoms at all. Many claim the cleaning out before the procedure actually helped the IBS. They do colonsocopies on people who already have colon cancer, the procedure, if you need one, isn't going to aggravate IBS.

However, everyone IS entitled to say no to any procedure they don't want. I think as long as they understand the risks of refusing a few minutes of discomfort.

Oh no! That isn't good! As a female you should have a yearly vaginal exam to avoid undetected cancer. A family friend went 5 years without having one, ended up having issues and it turned out she had developed terminal cervical cancer . Her husband cheated on her and gave her the strand of HPV that causes it. It makes me sick to my stomach to think if she had only went to her exams she would more than likely be here today. She lost her insurance and wasn't aware that planned parenthood will do it for free.

I think they saved my life. I had pre-cancerous cells surgically removed from my cervix my senior year of high school. If caught early enough like in my case it can be a matter of life or death!

me either...i fact I don't really understand what they are needed for?