Colon cancer symptoms that you may miss

The symptoms of colon cancer that we tell you below are those that can alert you to the presence of this tumor in its initial stages. Although it is easy to relate them to other ailments, do not overlook them and give them the importance they have. When in doubt, it is always better to consult with the doctor and rule it out, not to do it and make it late.

Abdominal pain

Feeling pain in the upper left side of the abdomen, near the last rib, can be a specific discomfort due, for example, to a slight muscle strain, but it can also alert you to the presence of polyps.

When to worry. When pain comes and goes You feel it for a few days, it disappears, but it reappears. And it also changes the bowel rhythm (sometimes you have a hard time going to the bathroom and others you do it easily).

Changes in bowel rhythm

If you have always gone like clockwork and now it is difficult for you to go to the bathroom and on top of that you alternate going constipated with suffering from diarrhea, your body may be warning you that something is wrong.

Be suspicious if … Change the frequency in which you usually go to the bathroom without any changes in your day-to-day (without traveling, changing the type of diet, exercise rhythm, new medication …). If these changes continue, see your doctor.

Changes in stool

Not only the frequency of bowel movements can alert us, but also its shape. When the polyps increase in size, they can partially obstruct the way out of the stool and these are usually smaller and thinner. Therefore, knowing what your poop is like tells you a lot about your health.

And also … You may also be left with the feeling that the expulsion has not been complete, which could be related to the presence of tumors in the final part of the colon.

Presence of blood in the stool

When the stool acquires a brown or bright red color, there may be alterations in the colon, although it can also be due to a hemorrhoid problem. The blood may be mixed with or surround the stool and there may be bleeding before or after bowel movements.

Consult immediately. This symptom is usually the one that can most clearly reveal colon cancer, so you should not delay in going to the doctor's office. If they were hemorrhoids, calm down, we will tell you how to cure hemorrhoids quickly.

Extreme tiredness and anemia

This tiredness may be less evident in the early stages of the disease and, as it progresses, be more pronounced. It is usually related to bleeding which, if continued, can lead to anemia. Anemia itself is one of the most difficult symptoms to relate to colon cancer, among other things, because in women it is very frequent since we have monthly bleeding for much of our life. But, in addition, the diagnosis of anemia is often confused with depression due to false medical beliefs that endanger our health.

Ask if … You feel exhausted without a reason to explain it, such as having increased your physical activity, going through some moments of marked stress …

Unexplained weight loss

If you lose more than four and a half kilos, this sharp drop in weight can alert you to the presence of tumors, although not necessarily colon.

It is worrying if … The weight loss is sudden and does not have to do with a change in your diet or the beginning of a diet to lose weight or changes in your physical activity.

Colon cancer does not hurt because there are no receptors for pain in the large intestine, and this can make it go unnoticed. It is usually detected when it has spread and obstructs the interior of the intestinal tract or bleeds, but then it is already in an advanced stage.

Colon Cancer Symptoms That You Can't Miss

The symptoms that we tell you below can alert you to the possible presence of polyps in the intestine, something important since most colon cancers develop from these polyps. If you feel them, do not be alarmed but consult your doctor, because they can also be related to other ailments such as digestive disorders, hemorrhoids, Crohn's disease …

Abdominal pain. It is usually felt under the last rib and, although it may be due to muscle strain, if the pain is not constant, but you feel it some days and not others, it may be due to the presence of polyps in the intestine.
Go from constipation to diarrhea. If you have always been very regular and now alternate seasons of being constipated with others in which you are "very loose", be suspicious. These changes, when they are not related to having started to eat in a different way (with more or less less fruit and vegetables or whole grains, for example) or with changes in your workouts, medication … should make you consult your doctor.
Changes in the shape and size of your bowel movements. If the polyps get larger they can partially narrow the exit of the stool, making the stools thinner and smaller, because they break more. You may also feel that despite going to the bathroom, you don't have enough bowel movements and that you need to do it again. This could have to do with the presence of tumors at the end of the colon.
Blood in the stool. It is the symptom that most clearly betrays colon cancer, although it can be confused with the bleeding caused by hemorrhoids. In any case, and to clear up any doubts, consult your doctor, especially if you have never had a fecal occult blood test, which is the best preventive diagnostic method for this cancer. In fact, this screening method is being implemented throughout Spain to detect cancer in its initial stages, although there are many differences between autonomous communities and not all of us are on equal footing to prevent it depending on where we live.
Extreme tiredness and having anemia. They are two symptoms that are closely related, because both are related to bleeding. Fatigue is less noticeable in the early stages of the disease but gradually becomes more disabling. Therefore, if you feel exhausted and there is no physical activity that justifies it, you should consult your doctor.
Losing more than 4 kilos of weight. When neither changes in diet or physical exercise explain this remarkable weight loss, you should suspect that there may be a tumor, whatever it is, it does not have to be from the colon, causing it. That is why, in addition to the symptoms of colon cancer, knowing these 14 warning signs of cancer in general can save your life.

What tests can the doctor do?

If you detect these symptoms that may be related to colon cancer, your doctor will likely do one of the following tests:

Rectal examination When any of these symptoms alert that something is not working as it should, the doctor will take a medical history, order a blood and urine test and perform a rectal palpation in search of alterations in the walls of the rectum.
Test for hidden blood in feces. When the presence of blood in the stool is not evident, this test is performed, which consists of applying a test strip that changes color if it comes into contact with blood. If it is positive, the doctor may recommend a colonoscopy.
Analysis of the fecal microbiota. The microbes found in the stool when you have colon cancer are very specific, so this test helps pinpoint the diagnosis in combination with the stool occult blood test.
Colonoscopy A flexible tube with a video camera is inserted through the anal canal to detect the presence of polyps.
Genetic testing. It detects a polyposis syndrome, determined by a gene, which causes the sufferer to develop multiple polyps in the colon throughout their lives, with the potential risk that this entails.