About 6 weeks ago, I noticed some blood on toilet paper after I wiped; I didn't think much of it at the time. About 2 weeks later, there was blood in my stool and in the toilet water. This has persisted with each bowel movement since, along diarrhea and constipation. My blood work showed low iron (likely due to the blood loss), white cell count was slightly elevated, and SED rate was elevated. With all of this, the word "cancer' floods my mind. My mother had ulcerative colitis with colon cancer later on as a complication from the colitis. Could there be several other likely causes? Is cancer at the top of the list?