Anyone have a positive Cologuard test?

Cons:
Not as accurate.
Can't determine what you have.

I have colonoscopy every 3 years, same as Cologuard. They developed the Cologuard to get people to screen since so many don't.

Don't understand stress of Cologuard. To me it is reassurance. I need colonoscopy every 5 yrs due to polyps. My dr does cologuard in between. I had a positive - showed polyp. Had colonoscopy to remove- precancer. If I hadn't had it done, by next colonoscopy would have been cancer.

Yes I had my colonoscopy a few months back. They found two small Sessile serrated adenoma polyps. I need to return in 3 years for another. The Cologuard just caused anxiety. I will never use it again.

Hi, @dbchip. This may sound like a downer, but I'm trusting it will be a message of hope. Basically the worst I could have imagined occurred after my abnormal result from the Cologard DNA stool test, but now everything is all right.

My primary care doctor referred me for a colonoscopy. I was concerned at that point, but my doctor seemed to think it was likely something benign that was no big deal. My husband also is really big on not spending energy and time worrying about theoreticals, so I did not spend a lot of time worrying precolonoscopy. I did my colonoscopy pretty promptly after the stool DNA test.

I got my colonoscopy results back on a Friday afternoon, so it was not surprising that no one interpreted them for me over the weekend. I do not fully understand pathology or radiology results. These medical professionals just speak their own language. So I was reading a lot of jargon in my patient portal, one sentence of which made it look like I could have cancer. My husband did not fully understand it, either, and thought maybe it was saying I had some kind of marker for cancer. It was a little bit scary.

Well, I learned that Monday I did have cancer, a neuroendocrine tumor found alongside a couple of polyps. That was super surprising to me, especially as this cancer is rare. My doctors launched a series of different types of imaging and testing to find out if there was any residual tumor. My tumor was found in late July 2023, and I spent a lot of time going to the doctor that fall.

Long story short, the doctors learned that the colonoscopy had gotten all trace of cancer out of my body. I had a bit of residual trauma, I'd say, from the whole experience and the scanxiety people talk about (in one scan, I had tears flowing down my cheeks on both sides the whole time). But in a couple months that was all kind of a distant memory, and I've been perfectly normal since.

dbchip, have you had the colonoscopy? If so, what did they find?

No first hand knowledge here but I hope people read your experience...it is so common...the stress of the positive results of Cologuard is just not worth it. Just get the Colonoscopy and know what is what and if there are polyps they are painlessly removed.

Sorry. Talk to text 🙄 so forgive errors. I hope you still figure out what I was saying LOL 😆

And I was saying we're supposed to go to a concert on Wednesday. Something I've been waiting years years! To see her, Halsey. Yet? I'm so scared I'm not going to be able to walk up to the lawn where we have seats. Well an area to spray out a blanket and chill, which is best for me. I might have to use the Walker, but I feel like a wheelchair is probably best. And it was embarrassing at first. But now that it's such an necessity I don't care. I just don't know how to get in touch with the venue about that or if it's something that I need to do or can?? If anybody knows, please do message below and let me know. 🙂 Thank you all also so much! Prayers, well wishes and good luck! ✌️❤️🌞

Yeah. In August. She even looked at me with tears in her eyes and said the weight loss, how my face has sunken in, and the lethargic nature all worried her and she would move it up. But I've heard nothing. And that's been 2 weeks. Maybe two and a half... Thank you very much for your kind words and well wishes. I hope everything goes good with your recent BS. I absolutely loved working in medical after and I knew certain doctors providers as nurses assistants. Whatever they weren't how I would be... And now being a patient, on the other side, absolutely sucks! Sucks! There's so many things I could do on my own and better yet I can't. I am putting together more of a list of things I want us as a family to do. Travel, showing my son things like monuments or wonders of the world that are changing so fast, even little things like going on a picnic with no screen time. 🙂 And as narcissistic or self-centered as it sounds, I don't feel like that should be what I'm doing at 43. I have so much I want to do. And give. I've survived human trafficking for years and assaults, as many women have, yet. Yet this is what's going to get me?!? Ugh. I want to be an advocate for human trafficking and domestic violence. I want to be able to get up and give speeches. I want to be able to teach parents and women and fathers and everyone how to watch out how to stay safe. How they pull you in how they groom you? The hell it is. And how old to stay away from that. But I've got to be able to get out of the bed and walk further than 10 ft. I've got to be able to lift my hands long enough to do my hair or makeup. Or should I still go to a concert Wednesday? And I am so nervous that I'm not going to even be able to walk in. If anybody else is still unemployment with the stuff like this, please please message. I'd like to hear everyone's story. Thank you for listening to part of mine 💞

So true! I'm sorry that you have been going through this for quite some time. It seems mine has only been a couple months since the test showed positive on the colonorectal cancer section. After testing positive my husband actually called my PCP to tell him and he said thanks for letting me know. I'll handle it. I started getting texts and emails for imaging and lab work being set up and actually really fast. We told him Saturday about the test being positive and me even sending my husband to get a second to one because although a medical assistant and testing like that has literally been my livelihood since 2019 I still didn't believe it. So he went and got another one and I did it and it was positive as well. TBH the line showing positive was darker/ brighter the second time. Kind of lost it. He did too. I guess we were very mistaken thinking that with a positive test things would start going faster and they would find out where everything is. Surgery, radiation or chemo are options, do what's needed and biopsies obviously, and start treatment ASAP as I am 43 and 3 years ago I would work 14 hour shifts. Shifts nursing , overnight, For 14 hours on average then I would be so wound up when I got to the staff house that often I would change and go run. I started at a quarter or a half mile and within a month had gotten to where I could run 6 mi! Ny, I have to have braces on my right knee and my right foot to keep them from going out while I walk, when I can. I am tired all the time and sleep later than I did when I was a teenager. I sleep more than I am awake. I am so heartbroken. I don't think there's a better word. I thought at least I would start having appointments yet. The colonoscopy is in August. And other than lab work which was done two weeks ago and I've yet to hear anything back. Imaging is set up to check for breast cancer and cervical cancer screening... But why? So I can know know that I do indeed have something and that everybody who told me it was in my head for the last year wise indeed wrong? I already knew that! I know my body and I know how I feel. So why are we scanning for more when nobody's even addressed the first positive test? No treatment options given. Not even MRI, CT or ultrasound scheduled on my abdomen to check that way while waiting two and a half months for a colonoscopy. I hope I last that long... 🙏

How are you doing now? Did your GI doc schedule you for colonoscopy? As the saying goes, like you, "I hope to get to the bottom of it!"

I have the cologuard test kit ordered by my GI doc. Last month I had Virtual Colonography. Results showed tortuous colon. My visit to doc in March was to report change in BM's: narrow stool. I've had DX of IBS since 2001 following hysterectomy due to fibroid pressure on bladder. After last colonoscopy in 2018 my then GI doc removed one tiny negative polyp, saying that would be the last scoping I'd need. I'm 82!
Many favorable promos for Cologuard. Yet results come back either positive or negative without any other information.