Hey everyone, first of all thanks for this website and its many stories. They have helped me put my mind at ease but I still am having a problem and wanted to reach out and see if my story is similar to others.
It started in Nov 2015, during the weekend of my bday I admittedly ate a pretty bad diet of a lot of junk food and pop and helped my mom move. Before I continue I want to clarify that pretty much my entire life here and there (like a handful of times a year) I would experience a little bit of blood on my toilet paper. Bright red, like a fresh cut. Back to my story, so on the monday after weekend I passed a very large and dry stool. I had to push like my life depended on it to get it out and I bled a lot after it. The next day I woke up and had to use the bathroom and experience pain like i've never felt. It was, as i've read so many others describe, like passing broken glass. This went on for 5 days until my fiancee finally became worried and forced me to go to the hospital. In the hospital I was examined and part of that exam included the doctor inserting her finger into my rectum and OMG the pain!! She then spoke to a group of other doctors and diagnosed me with an anal fissure and prescribed me 2% diltiazem as well as instructed me to drink lots of water, use restoralax, and take sitz baths.
Well, I followed her orders for about a week and the pain went away and I was feeling normal except for one symptom.... My stools were not round anymore, more like a ribbon shape but thicker than ribbon. Maybe about 3/4 of a centimeter thick. So, I went back to my routine and consulted my family doctor, who agreed with the diagnosis and treatment. Again, admittedly I made the mistake of not following the orders for more than a week or so but I was pretty much pain free but still had the thick ribbon shaped stool. This went on for a couple of months before I started to worry a little and wondered if there was a more sinister problem. I would heal, then relapse and have pain, then heal and on and on so I figured I had a bad chronic fissure. So back in march I saw my doctor again and she said to stick the routine for more than a week and if it didn't go away to see her and go see a specialist. So now it's June, I am pretty much pain free and rarely, maybe once every 3-4 weeks see little streak of blood on the sides of my stood and a little bit on the toilet paper when I wipe once or twice but then none. I have no trouble urinating, nor do I feel like I cannot pass stool, I usually pass stool 2-3 times a day and have tried coconut oil, wheatgrass cream, anusol, sitz baths to completely heal but my stool is still slightly ribbon shaped.... Now I must say that when I re-aggravate my fissure it is thinner and when I am feeling well it is thicker but it has only been round literally 1-2 times since November.
So the reason I am writing this post is because I am also someone who suffers from anxiety on occasion and I had to see my father die at age 60 from stomach cancer that was misdiagnosed for 18 months and I am getting married soon and my and my fiancee are considering starting to try to have kids and I am terrified because I do not want to find out she's pregnant and shortly after that I have colon cancer. Like I said, my fissure comes and goes and blood is never "in" the stool, more like on the sides, very think streak. I have not lost any weight that is unexplained, as I have tried to slim down for my wedding and have been doing p90x. I work out 4-5 times a week, work full time, live a normal life but that ribbon shaped stool has me panicked. Are there others whom have had similar symptoms? Am I just being ridiculous worrying like this? Aside from what I have mentioned, is there another treatment that works? Any advice is welcome and thanks for reading this, I feel better after writing it but until I get called from the specialist and get my colonoscopy and hear it's not cancer I can't seem to shake the thought because the last thing I want in the world is to see my fiancee and my family relive what happened with my dad. Thanks again.

Welcome tiredandscared. First, congrats on getting married! :)

Your anxiety is COMPLETELY understandable given your experiences. First, it's not entirely unusual that your stool would change here and there after a fissure or under stress. I know we fear stool changes with cancer, but your doctor/specialist will evaluate your circumstances and they look for much more than just stool changes. Often after we heal there is some scar tissue and/or the anal pressure changes temporarily and slightly, which can throw off the how the stool comes out. I've been there, I promise analyzing mine too and freaking out! It is very likely your fissure is causing this.
The first advice I would have is if you know your mind won't be at ease I would go ahead and push for the specialist appointment. You can tell your primary doctor you've experienced what you believe are fissures for years and would like to establish a relationship with a specialist to learn what more you can do to prevent them. To be fair, the specialist will do much the same -- suggest sitz baths, creams and so on. Mine also suggested probiotics and Metamucil. Immediately after adding Metamucil (or another fiber) to my diet my stools became more normal in size. But seeing the specialist may ease your mind. I have terrible anxiety and over a course of 2 years and moves, I saw 4 colorectal doctors and 1 gastroenterologist. None were concerned I had colon cancer and they were aware my grandmother passed away from it. For the record, they were right I had the colonoscopy and was fine. This is because they do have a wealth of experience and training in what to look for. Fissures are scary especially when they bleed but are common and probably the most common cause of bleeding.

Sorry to babble a bit in this post. I'm not sure what to say other than I think it's admirable how much you care about your family and soon to be wife. Try to stay calm and do what you can that's in your control, if that is seeing a specialist to have peace of mind and to establish a relationship with a doctor who is more well versed in fissures -- then definitely do it. It's worth it! Hang in there!