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Colon Cancer Early Symptoms and Colon Cancer Warning SignsColon cancer warning signs are often absent in the early stages. As a result, patients often present late to the doctor as a bowel blockage or bowel obstruction. The earlier warning signs of colon cancer may include tiredness, going off food (anorexia), anaemia, weight loss, change in bowel habit e.g. diarrhea, constipation, mucus, wind, bloating and blood in the stool or ‘bleeding from the back passage’. On this page you will learn more about the disease and the prognosis for colon cancer. Info On Colon Cancer Early Symptoms - Who Gets Bowel Cancer? Colon cancer early warning signs can be similar to other bowel conditions including IBS (although there is NO increased bowel cancer risk with this condition), inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease which is part of the reason early diagnosis can be delayed in some people. IBS or colon cancer can cause altered bowel habit, but it is unusual to loose weight or develop anaemia with Irritable Bowel syndrome unlike colon cancer. Info On Colon Cancer Early Symptoms - Who Gets Bowel Cancer? Bowel cancer is a common cancer, but certain people are more at risk. It is most common in people over the age of 50 years (90% of cases) and 8 out of 10 are over the age of 60 years. It is slightly more common in men (1 in 18) in comparison to women (1:20). Symptoms of colorectal colon cancer in young adults are usually due to genetic or inherited risk. The two main conditions causing this are: 1) Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) which normally develops in people under the age of 50. 2) Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a condition that usually occurs in people under the age of 40 years and is characterised by multiple polyps in the colon (often in the 1000’s). These 2 conditions are usually distinguished by family history although not always, in particular adopted sufferers may not know their family history. Picking up colon cancer early symptoms in this group is clearly very important. Early detection can affect the prognosis for colon cancer in this group. What Causes Colon Cancer And What Are The Risk Factors For Bowel Cancer?
Colon cancer early symptoms can occur in anyone, but the some people are more at risk. Causes of bowel cancer are often multiple, but may include: 1) Age – as outlined 2) FH – as outlined 3) Obesity – poor diet and lack of exercise 4) Alcohol 5) Smoking 6) Exposure to radiation 7) Other medical conditions that increase risk, e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, Sclerosing Cholangitis. Targeting these groups would help to pick up colon cancer early symptoms is clearly important. What Conditions Have Similar Symptoms To Early Symptoms of Colon Cancer or Bowel Cancer? Many conditions have symptoms that raise concerns because they mimic colon cancer warning signs and these may include: Hemorrhoids Anal fissure – tear in the anus IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) Inflammatory bowel disease Ischaemic colitis Diarrheal illnesses e.g. infections, small bowel diseases and many more! Colon Cancer Info - How Can It Be Prevented? Colon cancer survivability depends on many different factors particularly as colon cancer early symptoms are often infrequent, but by far the best way is by prevention in the first place. To understand this, you have to have awareness of the natural development of this cancer. Most bowel cancers develop from colon polyps or adenomas. These are ‘cherry-like’ protuberances that develop in the bowel and as they grow, they change into pre-cancer polyps or ‘dysplastic polyps’ and then cancer. These polyps can cause bleeding, one example of a variety of colon cancer early symptoms. An example of a colon polyp can be seen here:
What Is The Treatment For Bowel Cancer? The main treatment for bowel cancer is surgery although depending on stage of disease other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy maybe employed. Staging of the disease is dependent on the degree of spread and is classified according to the TNM or Tumor, Node, Metastasis stage. It is this staging system that can give you a statistical chance of survival or prognosis of colon cancer as outlined: Colon cancer stage 1 - 93% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 2a - 85% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 2b - 72% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 3a - 83% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 3b - 64% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 3c - 44% 5 year survival Colon cancer stage 4 - 8% 5 year survival Clearly, colon cancer mortality rate throughout the world continues to improve and the earlier the symptoms of colorectal cancer are picked up, the better the chances of improving the bowel cancer mortality rate. Info On Colon Cancer - How Can I Prevent Bowel Cancer? Prevention is always better than cure. You can lower your risk of developing the disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle (smoking cessation, reduce alcohol intake, diet and exercise) and seeking medical advice at an early stage if you develop any of the symptoms already described, but listed again for convenience: Signs of colon cancer: 1) Tiredness 2) Off food (anorexia) 3) Weight loss 4) Change in bowel habit (diarrhea, constipation, bleeding, bloating, wind). In summary, in people with colon cancer early symptoms , early detection will improve prognosis and reduce deaths in this very common cancer. Colon cancer patient stories can be shared in the forum below. If you are a colon cancer patient or have had colon cancer we would love to hear from you. If you know someone with the disease, share your experience of this too. Have you had symptoms of early colon cancer or early warning signs of colon cancer? Let us know your thoughts. Feedback About Your Experience Of Colon Cancer To Help Others
Feedback about Colon Cancer to help other visitors too! By feeding back you are letting other visitors know your experiences of Colon Cancer and also contributing to the IBS Help Online community. You may be helped from the comments from others too! What Other Visitors Have SaidClick below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
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