Watch For Colon Cancer Warning Signs!

The colorectal cancer symptoms are mostly non-specific and appear pronounced only when the disease is at its late stage already. The bad news is that colorectal cancer is impossible to cure during later stage and the rate of survival is very slim as well. Often times, the early symptoms are ignored by most affected individuals because the manifestations are not that bothersome. Most of the disease presentations are actually mistaken as common gastrointestinal upset symptoms and don't even give a slight hint that there is an existing cancerous tumor in the colon. Although symptoms are not always conclusive of colorectal cancer, neither they exclude the possibility that the disease exists.

The colorectal cancer symptoms aggravate as the malignancy heads toward the later stage. The asymptomatic illness suddenly becomes filled with disturbing manifestations, particularly abdominal pain that is present even during the earlier stage of colorectal cancer. This pain has something to do with the devastation cancer cells can do as the tumor becomes bigger. Aside from damaging the blood vessels, the increasing size of the tissue overgrowth puts on too much pressure on the nearby nerve endings resulting to pain. Overall, the symptom presentation of colorectal cancer is affected by the severity of the disease, location and size of the tissue overgrowth.

Furthermore, since the colon is part of the gastrointestinal tract, the rest of the symptoms also pertain to GI system disturbance. The affected individual may manifest the following:

1. Slimmer size of feces

2. feeling of abdominal fullness or incomplete bowel emptying;

3. Abrupt weight reduction

4. abdominal flatulence;

5. Feeling of incomplete elimination of fecal matter or stool

6. Feeling of need to throw up (nausea) and actual vomiting

7. Bowel movement disturbances like loose bowel movement (diarrhea) or difficulty of passing hardened stool (constipation)

8. Gastrointestinal bleeding manifested by bloody stool (melena or hematochezia)

People with colorectal cancer may also experience fatigue associated with anemia, which is secondary to GI bleeding episodes. Moreover, pallor can also be evident among individuals with colon malignancy because blood loss depletes red blood cell count. Likewise, the tumor may absorb the necessary nutrients including iron, which may result to weight loss and further aggravate anemia due to iron deficiency.

Sooner or later, metastasis of colorectal cancer becomes inevitable. The adjacent tissues, lymph nodes and other organs beyond the location of the tumor are reached and affected by the cancer cells. There are times when cancer invasion to other tissues becoms extensive and will bring about intestinal perforation. Thus, content from the colon like feces and others, spill out into the peritoneal cavity towards the pelvis causing infection.

Therefore, regular medical check-up is essential for prompt diagnosis and treatment of various illnesses including colorectal cancer. Individuals who have predisposition to malignant diseases must consider enlisting annual health assessment into their priority list. Never wait for colorectal cancer symptoms to worsen and immediately attend all health requirements accordingly. In the presence of colorectal malignancy symptoms, never fail to seek for the expertise and advice of medical/health professionals. Moreover, diagnostic tests are necessary as confirmatory examinations like biopsy, aside from considering the disease symptoms.