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Colorectal Cancer Symptoms
Learn the colorectal cancer symptoms to protect your health
Colorectal cancer symptoms are very similar for cancer in the colon and cancer in the rectum. It is the second most common cause of cancer related death in the entire United States. Regular testing for colon polyps and removing them when they present themselves is vital. This is just as important to prevent colon these cancers as not smoking is important to prevent lung cancer.
Polyps in the colon are small protruding groups of cells that are present on the inside wall of your colon. Having them tested and removed will prevent you from ever having to deal with colon cancer.
Colon cancer survivability relies heavily upon how quickly the colon cancer is diagnosed so that treatment can commence. Your survival rate will drop significantly if you do not catch your colon cancer soon enough.
Am I at Risk?
There are a number of factors that will determine whether or not you are at risk of developing colon cancer or rectal cancer. It is these risk factors that determine if you will ever experience colon cancer symptoms:
- Age - approximately 90 percent of all people who are diagnosed with colon cancer or rectal cancer are older than 50 years of age. Colon cancer is capable of occurring in younger people, but this is much less common.
- Inflammatory Intestinal Disorders - long lasting inflammatory colon diseases like Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis can significantly increase your risk of developing colon cancer.
- Personal History of Polyps - if you have already experienced the presence of adenomatous polyps or colon cancer, then you will have a much greater risk of experiencing colon cancer in the future.
- Inherited Colon Disorders - there are genetic syndromes that can increase your risk of developing colon cancer. These syndromes and disorders are responsible for causing approximately 5 percent of all occurrences of colon cancer. Two examples of these syndromes are Lynch syndrome or HNPCC (Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer) and Familial Adenomatous Polyposis or FAP.
- Family History - if you have a sibling, a parent, a child or another family member with colon polyps or colon cancer, then you are going to be much more likely to develop colon cancer as well. Your risk will be even greater if more than one family has had issues relating to colon cancer,
Although researchers are still working hard to determine the causes of colon cancer, there are certain steps we can take to avoid the worst part of cancer. We do know that colon cancer develops out from polyps in the colon. Therefore it would is smart to have any polyps removed regardless of whether or not it is found to be cancerous. According to medical research news, here are the colorectal cancer symptoms that you should be looking for:
Some very early colon cancer warning signs:
- Blood in your stool or darkened stools
- Change in bowel habits, either loose stools or constipation
- Pain in your abdomen or pain during bowel movements
- Feeling tired when you have had enough rest
Later colon cancer symptoms:
- Pain in the lower abdomen area
- Feeling very tired
- Occasional cramps along with difficult bowel movements
- Nausea if you are taking certain drugs or receiving radiation treatments
Please keep these specific colorectal cancer symptoms in mind to prevent yourself from falling prey to this preventable disease.
- Colon Cancer Warning Signs - Knowing about colon cancer warning signs can possibly save your life. Some early colon cancer signs are blood in your stool, pain in your abdomen, fatigue etc. Some later symptoms are nausea and...
- Colon Cancer Symptoms - Early colon cancer symptoms are similar to symptoms of other stomach problems. Therefore diagnosis of this disease is not easy. If you are experiencing changes in your bowel habits that persist for more than 4 days it is a good idea to visit your doctor. Another common symptom is...
- Abdominal Pain Left Side - What does it mean to have abdominal pain left side? Abdominal pain can be a sign of various conditions ranging from heartburn and gallstones to colon cancer and hepatitis. In the case of colon cancer the symtoms may involve...
- Bowel Pain - Bowel pain is one of the symptoms for a number of medical problems, including colon cancer. Colorectal cancers often have no symptoms in the early stages until the cancer has progressed. Then bowel pain is likely. Rectal cancer usually occurs...
- Diverticulitis - Diverticulitis can give some symptoms similar to colon cancer, but only your doctor can really diagnose this disease. Diverticulitis results when small pouches in the digestive tract wall become inflamed. Diverticulas form when pressure inside the colon forces...
- Sleeping Problems - Sleeping problems are one of the most common side effects of colon cancer. If you have this problem try to build yourself up to your bedtime by doing relaxing activities such as getting a massage or taking a long bubble bath. Having adequate support will also help by clearing your head and releasing...
- Colon Cancer Causes Loss of Appetite - Colon cancer causes loss of appetite for various reasons. Even though you don’t feel like eating it is important that you keep up your food intake. Not doing so can cause you to lose valuable strength. Some techniques that might help you are to have someone else do the cooking and...
- Colorectal Cancer Symptoms - Knowing what the colorectal cancer symptoms are may save your life. Being educated on this subject is vital because it is the second most common cause of cancer related death in the entire United States. There are a number of factors that will determine whether or not you are at risk of developing colon cancer or rectal cancer some include...
- Symptoms of Rectal Cancer - Rectal and colon cancer symptoms are very similar and may not be obvious until after years of cancerous growth. The medical techniques to detect and remove rectal colon cancer polyps have greatly reduced the number of people who suffer from symptoms of rectal cancer. Some warning signs include...
- Rectum Cancer - What is the difference between colon cancer and rectal cancer? First off both cancers begin in the digestive system but rectal cancer is close to the anus and colon cancer is higher in the large intestine. Some symptoms of rectal cancer include...
