How do you recognize colon cancer?

introduction

Colon cancer is a very common disease in Europe. With 60,000 new cases per year, colorectal cancer is increasingly present in the population in Germany. It is the second most common type of cancer in women and the third most common in men. Colon cancer is the second most common cause of death in Germany due to one cause of cancer. It is therefore important to detect colon cancer as early as possible or to prevent it from developing. Colon cancer occurs more frequently from the age of 50, which is why preventive examinations are particularly important.

Preventive colonoscopy is the main focus of the prevention of colon cancer. According to the current guidelines, this is recommended from the age of 50 in healthy people without an increased risk of colon cancer. The health insurance companies currently only take over the colonoscopy from the age of 55. This should be repeated every 10 years if the results are normal. A screening colonoscopy is recommended for high-risk patients from the age of 40, but no later than the age of 45.
Further diagnostic measures are available for early detection, but their importance is not as high as that of colonoscopy. These include the haemocult test, which is also used to detect tiny bleeding in the stool. This is called occult bleeding, as they cannot be seen in the chair. Such bleeding can be a sign of cancer of the bowel. In general, you should pay attention to the presence of blood in your stool and have this clarified by a doctor immediately. Especially in old age, they are often a sign of colon cancer.

In addition, other gastrointestinal complaints such as new ones can also occur Changes in bowel habits Symptoms to be for Colon cancer speak. These include, for example. diarrhea and Constipationwhich can occur individually or alternately. Because colon cancer often evolves Colon polyps (= Growths of the intestinal mucous membrane) develops, or can develop from these, it is very important to attend the preventive examinations. Such polyps usually remain undetected for years, as they do not always cause symptoms, and can then develop into a malignant disease over the course of time. A colonoscopy will be such Polyps removed, howeverso that this development can be prevented.
The following article takes an in-depth look at the options for detecting colon cancer, the symptoms, and the various diagnostic measures.

Symptoms

The dangerous one Colon cancer is that he no characteristic early symptoms power. This means that the disease can go undetected for a long time. The same goes for potential precancerous lesions, such as Polyps. These are mostly a Incidental finding in the Colonoscopy.
Polyps can rarely get through slimy, possibly bloody stools to make noticable. Likewise can Constipation or Diarrhea Be signs of the presence of polyps. The colorectal cancer (another term for colon cancer) is usually also asymptomatic. At Blood in the stool However, colon cancer should be considered especially in old age. Unfortunately, this bleeding is not always visible. Then it is occult (hidden) Bleedingwhich can only be detected using diagnostic tests (haemocult).

Because around half of all colon cancer patients too hemorrhoids blood in the stool should not always be attributed to the hemorrhoids. These are often the cause of bleeding, but they are often associated with colon cancer. Therefore you should also have a It is essential to clarify the bleeding with a doctor.
Also Changes in bowel habits can be a sign of colon cancer. Here you can Constipation and Diarrhea alternating (= paradoxical diarrhea) or occur individually. So-called Pencil chairs, which are very thin bowel movements are also observed. Colon cancer can continue to spread in unwanted stool in Flatus demonstrate. However, these symptoms are not always present and therefore good screening for early detection is very important.

In addition to the specific symptoms, there can generally be a so-called cancer disease, including colon cancer B symptoms come. This includes unspecific Concomitant symptoms caused by an existing malignant disease arise together. This includes unwanted weight loss, fever, Night sweats.
More symptoms can be Reduction in performance and a general Exhaustion be.

stomach pain

stomach pain are a very unspecific symptom. There are many possible causes that can lead to abdominal pain. Typically, abdominal pain is not a symptom of colon cancer.

In other words, colon cancer is a rare cause of abdominal pain. However, abdominal pain can be caused by diseases that increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer or can result from colorectal cancer. In general, abdominal pain is no reason to think about a malignant disease at first. Here's on one too accompanying symptoms and pay attention to the nature and severity of the pain. A Ileus (Intestinal obstruction) can be the cause of very severe abdominal pain, for example. This can be done through the Relocation of the bowel arise as a result of a tumor disease. However, an ileus can have many other causes. In addition to the severe pain, it usually comes to nausea as well as surge-like Vomit. The disease process is very acute.

In the context of other gastrointestinal diseases, which are accompanied by abdominal pain, the risk of developing colon cancer can be increased. These include the inflammatory bowel disease as the Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Depending on the course of these diseases, there are not only abdominal pain but also chronic digestive tract complaints, which can manifest themselves, for example, in diarrhea or deficiency symptoms of certain nutrients.

Blood in the stool

Just in older age should have bleeding in the stool medically clarified as soon as possible become. Until the contrary is proven, there is a suspicion of colorectal cancer. This cautious attitude is essential in order not to overlook a malignant disease. Of course, blood in the stool can also come from another source such as Hemorrhoidal bleeding. The blood in the chair for hemorrhoids thereby superimposed light red. In colorectal cancer, the bleeding can look quite different. Pale blood deposited on the stool is typical of rectal bleeding. If there is bleeding from the colon, this is Blood rather dark and jelly-like.

Both bleeds belong to the lower gastrointestinal bleedingas they affect the lower digestive tract. However, there is also one Melena conceivable. This is the so-called Tarry stool, of the black is. Such a bleeding is typical for him upper digestive tract, however, it can also occur in colon cancer. The color comes about through degradation and metabolic processes. As already mentioned, blood in the stool can also get through Bleeding in the ear, nose and throat and other parts of the digestive tract and is not a conclusive criterion for colon cancer. It is very difficult to differentiate the bleeding as a layperson. Therefore, further diagnostic work-up by a doctor is very important. Likewise is Blood not always visible in the stool.

Blood test

There is a screening procedure to detect hidden (occult) bleeding in the stool. It is called the Haemoccult test or Guaiac test. A total of three stool samples from three consecutive bowel movements are required for the test. The blood is detected with the help of filter paper and hydrogen peroxide. If the test result is positive (blood is present), the test strip turns blue. However, the test has certain weaknesses. It can lead to false positive results because other stool components such as Myoglobin, which can turn test strips blue. Myoglobin is a muscle protein that can build up in stools from eating red meat. Blood that does not come from the intestines is also detected. Bleeding gums, nosebleeds and hemorrhoidal bleeding are often responsible for false positive results.

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