Preventing Colon Cancer to Save Your Life: What Are The Early Warning Signs?

Among the different types of cancers, colon cancer or colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the whole world.

Determining colon cancer is usually difficult and most cases are determined when they are already in the late stages and the condition is already severe. Researchers believe that these colorectal cancers originated from polyps in the colon. Polyps are actually benign tumors that grow in the large intestine. These benign polyps do not spread to other parts of the body but they can eventually be malignant and become cancerous. When these polyps turned to cancers, it can invade the adjacent tissues and organs.

Colon cancer is very life threatening and usually, it can cause other tumors especially if the cancer cells have already invaded the other organs in the body. This is termed as metastasis, wherein the cancer cells have formed another tumor aside from the original location in the body.

Colon cancer is common in both genders although more males are affected than females. Actually, there are a lot of factors that causes colon cancer and that includes intake of high fat foods, presence of polyps in the large intestine, and family history of colon cancer.

Actually, the symptoms of colon cancer are too many to identify and they are also not very specific. However, a person who has a high risk of developing colon cancer should be able to determine the early warning signs of it so that immediate medical treatment can be provided. The earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis because prompt treatment will be provided.

Here are the early warning signs of colon cancer that people should be aware of:

• Presence of dark colored stools. If you noticed that there is a change in your stool color, you should be alarmed because it can signify bleeding. You can also see some streaks of blood in your stool.
• Observe your bowel movement patterns for changes. You might experience diarrhea and constipation interchangeably for no obvious reasons.
• Easy fatigability and weight loss without any known reason.
• Passing out ribbon-like stools or stools that are narrower than usual. This may indicate an obstruction that causes the change of the shape of your stool.
• Experiencing stomach discomforts such as fullness, bloating, and cramps frequently and usually lasts for a few days.
• Feeling the need to defecate but passing out little stool and having the feeling that the bowel is not completely emptied.

Once you’ve experience any of these warning signs, consult your doctor immediately.