Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Signs and Symptoms of Colon Cancer

Colon Cancer is an extremely dangerous and difficult to detect form of cancer. It can grow for years without displaying any signs. However, Colon Cancer does display various symptoms and it is necessary for people to go visit a doctor once they see these. Symptoms of Colon Cancer include;

• Constipation; Constipation is the body’s natural mechanism of suggesting a fault in the diet. Colon Cancer can also manifest itself in this form because the tumors can cause significant obstruction in the colon. The solidity of stool makes it difficult for it to pass when this happens.

• Thin Stool; Colon Cancer can also the stool to reshape. The obstruction caused squeezes the stool so that it comes out in a much thinner form than regularly.

• Stomach cramps; The obstruction in Colon also affects the flow of gases from the bowels. The consequent build up of waste material leads to abdominal cramps. A more serious form of stomach cramps is when the cancer perforates through the bowel walls. Such an occurrence is a medical emergency.

• Blood in stool; Tumors tend to bleed. Therefore blood in the stool can be a symptom. If the cancer is at the start of the colon, the blood may be dry but if it’s at the end of the rectum, it turns out bright red.

• Unexplained weight loss; Tumors can also release chemicals which may increase metabolism which results in weight loss. Therefore unexplained weight loss may be a sign of colon cancer.

• Sense of fullness; If the Colon cancer occurs towards the end of the rectum, the body might mistake it for waste and thus a person might still not feel hungry.

• Nausea and vomiting; The harmful gases released by tumors can result in nausea and vomiting as well.

• Anemia; The bleeding caused by tumors results deficiency of iron. This may become acute with time since tumors at the start of Colon may not even be detected as the blood may get dried up before stool leaves the body. Thus anemia may also be a symptom of Colon Cancer.

It should be noted that all these symptoms are only a reference point and may even not be easily identified in the initial stages of Colon Cancer. The best precaution is to get regular check ups.

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