I had a family friend who recently passed from colon cancer.

It was particularly brutal because it never showed up in any regular screenings, due to the tumor growing on the outside of their colon. It took ~2-3 weeks just to figure out what it was, but they only knew something was wrong because of some blood tests that came back with unusual results.

It was only 90 days from when they got the call about the unusual results till their death.

My entire adult life I've had a very unstable stomach, and for the past 6-7 years I've experienced pretty much every red flag, but they'd often come in waves - which would give me just enough time to back off from calling my GP.

Last May a good friend of mine, 35 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. He had experienced on/off constipation and stomach pain for a month, but otherwise healthy. When he went to the ER they suspected volvulus, but scans showed a huge tumor blocking. Long story short, it was cancer and it had spread to his liver and lungs.

He's still alive, and responding well to treatment, in the sense that the tumors are shrinking - but in general the prognosis is poor. And he's been completely ravaged by the treatment. If he survives, it is very unlikely he can go back working.

This prompted me to get myself checked. After telling my GP about my symptoms, he told me - yup, better get blood tests, stool samples, and a colonoscopy.

The colonoscopy turned out to be almost completely painless. If anything, the prep was more annoying than the procedure itself. And by far my biggest anxiety was the idea of getting my fears confirmed.

Luckily, there was nothing. Not even a single polyp. All other tests came back normal, too.

So, at least based on my experience, don't hesitate. It's really not bad.