7 Signs Of Colon Cancer
Colon cancer can be fatal, which is why you should also be aware of unspecific or early symptoms in order to take them seriously.
It is difficult to identify typical colon cancer symptoms because all symptoms have many other causes as well.
Women in particular are more susceptible to a wide variety of symptoms that point to other complaints rather than colon cancer .
So it makes sense to deal with this topic and get to know the symptoms in order to be able to act on the slightest suspicion.
What is Colon Cancer Exactly?
Colon cancer is a malignant growth in the intestine, which can be the large intestine or rectum. The small intestine is only very rarely affected (less than 5% of all cases).
The insidious thing about colon cancer is that those affected remain symptom-free for a very long time and the symptoms are recognized as such very late.
It therefore makes sense to talk to your doctor about whether and when a colon cancer screening examination is recommended. In many cases, the health insurance companies also cover the costs!
It has been proven that certain lifestyle and eating habits lead to an increased risk of colon cancer. So it is up to you to significantly reduce your risk of colon cancer by changing these habits!
Diet is an important point. Those who eat a high-fat, low-fiber diet and eat a lot of meat are at an increased risk.
It’s easy to reduce the risk: Look for a diet that is high in fiber (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) is, does not contain too much fat and brings little meat on your plate!
Other factors that promote colon cancer are obesity, nicotine and alcohol.
You can’t say it often enough what everyone already knows: a healthy diet, a normal weight and a nicotine and alcohol-free lifestyle are the best prevention against so many deadly diseases!
Recognize colon cancer symptoms in a timely manner
The chances of recovery are very different: if you detect colon cancer early, there are good chances of recovery.
Unfortunately, since it usually remains undetected for a very long time (too long!), It is usually fatal. It is all the more important to go to regular checkups!
Early detection ensures that all diseases have a good chance of recovery, including here. Therefore, you should take the following seven symptoms seriously:
stomach pain
Unfortunately, abdominal pain only occurs at an advanced stage, when the tumor has already reached a certain size.
Small tumors do not cause pain. Even if the colon cancer has already attacked other areas, such as the liver, it leads to abdominal pain.
But even then the tumor is already at a critically advanced stage of cancer.
Blood in the stool
Blood in the stool does not necessarily have to be indicative of cancer; there are certainly more harmless causes, such as hemorrhoids.
The blood in stool caused by colon cancer is mostly invisible if it is in small amounts. But it can be proven very easily with a test stick.
Ask your doctor about this! You can recognize large amounts of blood in the stool by the black color, one also speaks of “tarry stool” – because that’s what it looks like …
Unwanted weight loss
Unfortunately, women in particular are too early to look forward to a symptom that shows colon cancer at an advanced stage: unwanted weight loss.
However, unwanted weight loss is a symptom of so many ailments and illnesses that it is imperative that your family doctor fully clarify it!
“False friends”
A tumor can reduce the tension in the sphincter muscle. It can happen that in the case of flatulence, solid components accidentally come off with the winds. Such a “wet fart ” is dubbed a little more politely by medical professionals with a “false friend”.
Fatigue / weakness
A very diffuse symptom, which often occurs in women and has more to do with iron deficiency than with colon cancer, is fatigue or weakness.
If you observe something like this in yourself, you should have your family doctor conduct a blood test to determine whether there is an iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can have many causes.
Cancer should only be considered once this has been clarified. Because colon cancer can also cause iron deficiency or “anemia”!
constipation
Constipation alone is not a typical sign; it must alternate with diarrhea to be a symptom of colon cancer.
diarrhea
If diarrhea and constipation alternate, cancer may be the cause. Diarrhea or constipation alone is not a typical sign, it must alternate, as the tumor first thaws the intestinal contents, which causes constipation.
Now the “jam” is liquefied again by bacteria, can flow past the tumor and is excreted as diarrhea.
