Colon cancer is the second deadliest type of cancer in the United States, and one of the reasons why it is so dangerous is that people do not know much about it. There are several misconceptions, and not every patient gets adequately screened. When cancer is found, it is too late to provide treatment.
This disease is diagnosed every year in over 130,000 people in the United States. More people still are left undiagnosed. But if you want to recover from this type of cancer, it is essential to start treatment as soon as possible.
In this article, we’re leaving you important facts, signs, and symptoms that you need to know about colon cancer. After reading this post, you will understand what to expect from colon cancer and how to detect the disease.
1. Colon cancer has a substantial genetic background
Family history has a critical role in colon cancer. It has a hereditary predisposition to it, and recent statistics show that one in every three people with colon cancer has had another family member with the disease. So, if you had family members with colon cancer or adenomatous polyps in the colon, it is appropriate to talk to your doctor and you may need to start screening before turning 50 years old.
There are two conditions known as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and Lynch Syndrome. They are the most common hereditary problems associated with lung cancer, but many other gene alterations can lead to a higher risk.
2. Your diet and exercise levels play a significant role
Diet and exercise play an essential role in most types of cancer, including colon cancer. Leading a healthy diet and exercising regularly are good ways to prevent cancer using lifestyle modifications. Your diet should have lots of fruits and vegetables and avoid too much red meat and processed foods. Dietary fiber prevents many colon cancer cases by increasing the bulk in your stools and promoting regular bowel movements.
Exercise is also vital to reduce your risk. People with obesity or a sedentary behavior have a higher risk of colorectal cancer than the average. So, the recommendation is to increase your physical activity levels as much as possible.
3. Smoking and abusing alcohol increases your risk
Smoking is a source of many carcinogens and inflammatory substances. Carcinogens influence the DNA and cause mutations that lead to abnormal growth and immortal features in cancer cells. Inflammatory substances contribute to growth by increasing the blood flow to the cancer tissue. Cancer feeds off inflammation because it is fundamental to create new blood vessels and keep feeding the tumor as it grows.
On the other side, studies show that people who drink alcohol very heavily are more likely to grow colon cancer. This is true in men and women, but men are apparently at a slightly higher risk. The relationship is not entirely understood, but most studies suggest that alcohol damages the gastrointestinal tract, changes our hormone levels, and reduces folate absorption (low folate levels may also increase the risk of colon cancer).
4. Watch out if you have blood in your stools
Finding blood in the stools is a common sign in patients with colon cancer. As it grows, colon cancer recruits new blood vessels and creates a few others. New blood vessels are abnormal and very fragile. Thus, intestinal transit is likely to cause erosion, cuts in the blood vessels, and bleeding.
Depending on the site of bleeding, you may see bright red blood, dark red blood, or something called melena. This is a type of dark-stained stool with a very foul odor. In these cases, bleeding is found far from the anus, giving the body enough time to ferment blood.
5. Rectal bleeding is not always due to hemorrhoids
People with hemorrhoids tend to overlook rectal bleeding because hemorrhoids are a common cause. But colon cancer should be ruled out if you have very frequent episodes, especially if you have bleeding episodes without the usual symptoms of heaviness and discomfort caused by hemorrhoids.
As the name implies, colorectal cancer happens in the colon or the rectum. When the problem is located in the rectum, it can trigger rectal bleeding. In some cases, a lump is found in a digital rectal examination. Regardless, it is important to report changes in your usual hemorrhoid symptoms if you have them.
6. Changing your bowel habits constantly is not normal
Depending on what we eat, we may sometimes go to the bathroom more often or stop going altogether for a while. Diarrhea is also a common problem in some countries. But constantly alternating between diarrhea and constipation is not normal, and it should be evaluated.
Different gastrointestinal diseases may lead to constant changes in bowel habits. For example, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can make you alternate between diarrhea and constipation. But this is also a sign of colon cancer, and only a doctor can evaluate the difference, sometimes using colonoscopy and other diagnostic procedures.
7. There’s a link between constipation and colon cancer
The most common symptom in colon cancer is a constant change in bowel habits, as noted above. But constipation has particular importance in the development of colon cancer. When colon cancer is already developing, constipation may also become an essential sign of the disease.
You will probably have this symptom as a healthy patient when you do not eat enough dietary fiber. Constipation increases the pressure inside the colon as the gastrointestinal tube struggles to move the hard stools. As a result of the increased pressure, more polyps are formed, and one of them can turn into colorectal cancer.
8. Anemia is prevalent in colon cancer blood tests
We mentioned above that colon cancer leads to blood vessels’ growth, and they are sometimes very fragile and prone to bleeding. Gastrointestinal bleeding is sometimes not noticed by patients, and they only find out after seeing their blood test results. Anemia is prevalent in these cases. It is a reduction of hemoglobin levels in the blood, which carries oxygen to our tissues. Thus, it is often associated with feeling weak and tired all the time.
Actually, anemia is a ubiquitous finding in asymptomatic colon cancer patients, and it should be studied thoroughly, especially in patients older than 50 years or those with a predisposition for colon cancer.
9. Unintended weight loss should always be evaluated
Weight loss is also a common symptom in colon cancer, mainly when the tumor has already grown. This is one of the predominant alarm signs in most types of cancer, including colon cancer. However, it is an unspecific symptom and should be interpreted with care.
Unintended weight loss means losing weight without changing your physical activity levels or diet. If you lose over 10 pounds in 6 months or 5% of your body weight, talk to your doctor as soon as possible to evaluate what is happening. Cancer is a possibility, but other chronic health conditions also need to be ruled out.
10. Colon cancer can be a cause of diarrhea
Some patients have chronic diarrhea instead of changing from diarrhea to constipation. Others experience both problems interchangeably. Regardless of how you experience the symptom, constantly having watery stools should be evaluated by a doctor. Chronic diarrhea lasts for four weeks or more, and many causes should be ruled out, including infectious diseases, metabolic disturbances, and nutritional causes.
Be careful around diarrhea because it often causes dehydration and severe electrolytic abnormalities in people with colon cancer. In some cases, diarrhea improves after changing our diet, but it may require pharmacological interventions. Chronic diarrhea is also a consequence of treatment for colon cancer.
11. Do not neglect persistent nausea and vomiting
Nausea, vomiting, and bloating can be important symptoms to look at in colon cancer patients. If they are persistent or come back very often without any cause, nausea, vomiting, and bloating could be linked to a hidden gastrointestinal disease. These symptoms are particularly useful to diagnose inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Inflammation triggers the symptoms through cytokines and alterations in bowel movements.
In colon cancer, there’s inflammation of the internal linings of the colon. As the tumor grows, the inflammation becomes worse, and the symptom becomes more prevalent. The recommendation is to report nausea and vomiting as a persistent symptom if you experience this problem.
12. You can also have hidden blood in your stool
Blood in the stools is not always clearly visible. As noted above, you can notice red blood in the stools, but it can be black instead. In these cases, black stools (melena) are often missed out by patients. So, if you do not notice anything different in your stools but perceive a very foul odor, it is recommended to run a stool analysis.
In some cases, you don’t perceive a foul odor, and you don’t see any changes in the stool, but there is something called hidden blood. This is microscopic blood that is only detected under the microscope. Hidden blood is expected in the early stages of colon cancer, but it is also a sign of amebiasis and other gastrointestinal diseases.
13. You may need screening, even if you don’t have any symptom
As you can see above, not all signs and symptoms of colon cancer are readily noticeable. Many cases remain asymptomatic until it is too late, and the tumor has grown very big and spread to other organs. We don’t want to wait for symptoms, then.
Screening for colorectal cancer is recommended after age 45 years. This is usually done by performing a stool analysis that includes hidden blood examination and a visual exam that looks at your colon walls from the inside (colonoscopy). These exams should also be done on younger patients with a very high risk of colon cancer (family history or people with warning signs and symptoms).
14. Colorectal cancer is not only found in the elderly
Screening is recommended after age 45 years, but that doesn’t mean that younger patients cannot develop colorectal cancer. However, this disease can also affect younger people. This was initially very uncommon, but the incidence is rising for the latest years to the point that recently, the screening protocol changed to include younger patients. Processed foods in our diet are likely affecting the incidence of colon cancer in young patients.
However, not every patient before 45 years should be screened, and you need to outweigh the benefits against the risks and costs. Your doctor will help you decide if screening is a good idea for you based on your risk factors.
15. Do not overlook abdominal pain
Abdominal pain can be a very complex symptom sometimes. However, it is also common and not always associated with severe or chronic disease. Severe or sudden abdominal pain should be evaluated in the emergency room.
The same happens in long-standing and persistent abdominal pain not associated with bowel movements. Hepatitis, colon cancer, gallbladder stones, and other health problems should be ruled out in these cases.
16. Colon cancer complications can be very severe
Health authorities stress the importance of colon cancer screening from an early age because they want to avoid the severe complications of this disease in the long run. Of course, we understand that metastasis is one of these complications, and once metastasis is set, treating cancer becomes particularly difficult.
Other complications include bowel obstruction as the tumor grows more prominent, nutrient absorption problems, and blood vessel obstructions with fluid retention. The complications of metastasis include nervous system alterations, liver disease, lung spread with respiratory problems, and bowel dysfunction as the tumor spreads to other gastrointestinal system areas.