Datapoint: At 36 I noticed small amounts of blood in my stool intermittently over the course of a year and told my GP. He said it was probably nothing (hemorrho

Datapoint: At 36 I noticed small amounts of blood in my stool intermittently over the course of a year and told my GP. He said it was probably nothing (hemorrhoids) but that I could get a sigmoidoscopy if I was really concerned. I did, and right around-the-corner was a big old polyp. The Gastroenterologist was surprised. Had 3 more removed in the following colonoscopy. None cancerous, thankfully, but who knows how much longer that would have lasted. I should also note that bleeding is not a very common symptom. Usually there are none, so I got lucky. He said that my bowels were pretty bad looking, like a 70 year old. This surprised me since I thought I had a pretty good diet for most of my adult life, and very good in my 30s. I had a garbage diet as a child and teenager though. I really can't guess what's driving the trend of bowel disease in younger and younger patients, but I am following news on it with great interest.