SYMPTOMS OF COLON CANCER

Symptoms of colon cancer can be sneaky, because we all have some of these symptoms once in a while.  The time to be concerned is if the symptoms persist for two weeks or more.  We all have bowel movements and it is alright to talk to your doctor about your bowel habits.

Changes in bowel habits can be a clue to the fact that our colon is not healthy.  This doesn’t necessarily mean there is a significant problem, but if these changes continue over a couple weeks, it is time to talk to the doctor. A change is anything that is different for us.  It may be constipation when this has never been a problem for you before or it may be diarrhea that lasts for two weeks.  The first thing to consider, of course, is what have you been eating?  We all have bouts of constipation, if we aren’t getting enough fruits and vegetables; so the first thing we should do is increase or start eating fruits and vegetables.  Diarrhea hits if we eat too many fruits and vegetables, or too much greasy food, or if we eat something that has spoiled.  You should decrease the amounts of fruits and vegetables, and or the amount of fried foods, when you develop diarrhea.  A bacteria or “bug” that is going around can gives you diarrhea and, in and of itself, isn’t a cause to panic about symptoms of colon cancer.  But if these symptoms go on for 2 or more weeks, then it is time to call your doctor.

Diarrhea is when you have loose or liquid stool or increased number of stools in a day.  Constipation is when you have hard stools or you haven’t had a bowel movement for 3 or more days.  Everyone’s bowel habits vary from time to time and what is normal for one person is not necessarily normal for the next person.  It is changes that you should pay attention to.

Bright red or very dark red blood in your stools is another sign not all is well.  The most common cause of blood in stools is hemorrhoids. These are tags that form in the rectum that can fill with blood and then break and bleed.  The bleeding from hemorrhoids should not last for more than a day or two at the most.  So when you continue to have blood in your stools this is a symptom that needs to be reported and checked by your doctor.

Narrow stools or stools that are pencil shaped are another sign that the colon is not healthy.  Again if this continues it is time to call your doctor.

Another sign of trouble is increased and persistent gas pain, bloating, a feeling of fullness with or with out decreased appetite and abdominal (tummy) cramping that continues for 2 weeks.

Again symptoms of colon cancer are not that uncommon to us.  We all go through times that our colons aren’t healthy, but when these changes go on for 2 weeks, it is time to go to the doctor and find out why things aren’t normal.  Symptoms of colon cancer can be caused by other things, so why worry?  Go get checked out if you have:

          Changes in your bowel movements

          Constipation         

          Diarrhea

          Blood in your stools

          Stools thinner than normal

When you are aware of what is normal and what is not normal you are better prepared to talk to your doctor about your body.

So eat your fruits and vegetables and have your colonoscopy when you are fifty and every 5 years after that.

Wishing you good colon health and God Bless you.