Many cases of colon cancer have no symptoms. If there are symptoms, the following may indicate colon cancer: Abdominal pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen.
You might have any of these symptoms if the cancer has spread to your liver: discomfort or pain on the right side of your abdomen. feeling sick. poor appetite and weight loss.
Abdominal symptoms such as pain, bloating or rectal bleeding are often signs of an abnormal process in the left side of your colon. “Right-sided colon cancers tend to be asymptomatic or cause these symptoms only when they are at an advanced stage and fairly large.
Possible symptoms of bowel cancer
a lump that your doctor can feel in your back passage or tummy (abdomen), more commonly on the right side. a feeling of needing to strain in your back passage (as if you need to poo), even after opening your bowels.
In the early stages of the disease, from stage 0 to 2, you can have little to no pain, because the cancer is limited to the colon and hasn't yet spread. Once colon cancer has progressed to stage 3 and 4, you might feel more intense pain.
The 3 main symptoms of bowel cancer are blood in the stools (faeces), a change in bowel habit, such as more frequent, looser stools, and abdominal (tummy) pain.
If you regularly see blood in your stool or in the toilet bowl after a bowel movement over several months, talk to your doctor. Unexplained abdominal pain: The pain associated with a growing tumor may come and go. It can feel like gas, burning or a nagging discomfort.
Disease in the right colon can give more subtle symptoms than cancer located on the left side, which is often associated with pain.
One of the first signs of colon cancer may be a persistent change in bowel habits, such as constipation, diarrhea, or narrow stools. All of these changes can be normal if they are temporary, but you should mention them to your doctor if they don't go away after a few days.
Currently, three types of stool tests are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to screen for colorectal cancer: guaiac FOBT (gFOBT); the fecal immunochemical (or immunohistochemical) test (FIT, also known as iFOBT); and multitargeted stool DNA testing (also known as FIT-DNA).
Stomach bloating, distention, cramps or pain in the abdominal or bowel region can be symptoms of colon or rectal cancer. These are common issues that can also be caused by a number of conditions, including diet-related gastrointestinal distress, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
Diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain are all symptoms of colorectal cancer. However, there are additional symptoms that are more concerning. “Sudden and unexplained weight loss, rectal bleeding or blood in the stool are all cause for concern,” says Richards.
Summary. Colon cancer can cause changes in the color, consistency, and frequency of your poop. These changes can include blood in the stool, narrow stools, more frequent bowel movements, and diarrhea. In advanced stages, poop may become black and tarry.
Abdominal pain. Persistent changes in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, narrowing of the stool. Unexplained fatigue. Losing weight without trying.
Abdominal pain is the most common symptom of colon cancer. In right colon cancer, pain is vague, dull and annoying and may be confused with gall badder disease or peptic ulcer.
No blood test can tell you if you have colon cancer. But your doctor may test your blood for clues about your overall health, such as kidney and liver function tests. Your doctor may also test your blood for a chemical sometimes produced by colon cancers (carcinoembryonic antigen, or CEA).
Cancer cells can release substances into the body that change the way food is converted to energy, which can cause weight loss. Additionally, if a tumor in the colon gets large enough, it could block the colon. This blockage can affect a person's bowel habits, which can then lead to unexplained weight loss.
Several studies reported that weight gain after diagnosis is common among CRC patients [1–3, 10, 11]. All these studies showed that weight gain after diagnosis was more common than weight loss after diagnosis [1–3, 10, 11].
Colon cancer is typically slow-growing, starting as a benign polyp that eventually becomes malignant. This process may occur over many years without producing any symptoms. Once colon cancer has developed, it may still be years before it is detected.
Colon cancer can cause both constipation and diarrhea. A person may feel cramp-like pain in the stomach. The stool may be streaked or mixed with blood. In rectal cancer, the most common symptom is usually bleeding when going to the bathroom.