Colon Cancer Symptoms

RemwesMedical — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:50:13 +0000

Colon Cancer is a very important medical problem which affects thousands of people yearly. There are some clues or symptoms that a person can exhibit which may give us an early indication that that person may or may not have colon cancer. We will review some of those symptoms or findings as follows:
1. BLOOD IN THE STOOL: If someone starts to produce small amounts of blood when they have a stool (or, as is also called, a bowel movement), we need to think of the possibility of colon cancer. Actually, with small amounts of bright red blood in the stool, we need to think of Rectal Cancer more than that of Colon Cancer. Rectal Cancer is a colon cancer that is way down near the end of the intestines, near the anus. If a person has colon cancer proper, the stool is more likely to be black and tarry than red.
2.UNEXPLAINED WEIGHT LOSS: If someone has unexplained weight loss. They tell us that even though they eat regularly they just can’t seem to “keep the weight on”, we need to think of the possibility of cancer. This finding, unexplained weight loss, may be a clue not just for Colon Cancer, but as well for other cancers such as Lung Cancer, Pancreas Cancer and other cancers. Nevertheless, we need to keep colon cancer in mind if there is an unexplained weight loss.
3. THIN STOOLS THAT “LOOK LIKE A RIBBON”. If a person tells us that his or her stools have become very thin and “like a pencil” or “like a ribbon”, we need to think of colon cancer or more specifically, rectal cancer. This is because the cancer can be narrowing the rectum as the stool tries to exit and it makes the stool very thin and “pencil like”.
4. SEVERE FATIGUE. A person with colon cancer is very possibly very tired because of the slow but constant loss of blood in the colon. This slow but steady loss of blood over months and perhaps years, causes a severe loss of blood which is known as an “Anemia”. Anemia, in turn, makes the person feel very tired and even short of breath at times.
5. ABDOMINAL PAIN: Colon cancer can present with pain in the abdomen. This is not a usual sign for colon cancer, but it is possible. Typically, if a colon cancer presents with pain in the abdomen, this indicates that the cancer has grown very much before it was discovered.
All of the signs and symptoms and concepts mentioned above are covered in clear, easy to understand language in the Colon Cancer audio CD available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com

Blood in the stool – Cancer In Plain English – Cancer Information

Colon Cancer Symptoms