Colon cancer symptoms range from very mild, to extremely severe. There are often cases of colon cancer that are virtually without symptoms until the latest stages. Once you’ve developed colon cancer symptoms, the disease has presumably entered middle or late stages, and there is a much better chance that it has spread to other areas of your body.
Colon cancer symptoms are not always clear and are often so subtle that they are mistaken for less serious conditions. Colon cancer symptoms are often silent and so they go undetected. As the symptoms are usually confused with less deadly conditions it allows the cancer to progress further before diagnosis and treatment. Colon cancer symptoms are very serious indeed and lead to colon cancer, which is in the top three of the most life-threatening forms of cancer in men.
Symptoms of colon cancer commonly do not give early warning signs of cancer, but through medical history, professional examination and testing, a colon cancer symptoms diagnosis or determination of the presence of cancer may be determined. Symptoms of colon cancer often do not lead straight to the underlying diagnosis and many symptoms can be misleading. Symptoms can remain dormant for as long as five years, by which time the cancer will have moved long past the treatable stage.
Understanding colon cancer symptoms is important, as you can use this knowledge to work with your doctor to uncover out the cause and take care of your long-term health. Some of the more popular local symptoms of colon cancer include changes in your bowel habits, such as bowel movements that are either more or less frequent than normal, constipation (difficulty having a bowel movement or straining to have a bowel movement), Diarrhea (loose or watery stools), Intermittent (alternating) constipation and diarrhea and bright red or dark red blood in your stools or black, dark colored, “tarry” stools.
Stools that are thinner than normal (“pencil stools”) or feeling as if you cannot empty your bowels completely, abdominal discomfort, bloating, frequent gas pains, or cramps. If you experience any of
these for two or more weeks, call your doctor right away to discuss your concerns and arrange for tests to get to the bottom of your symptoms.
90% of colon cancer symptoms are discovered in those 50 years of age or older. It is important to note that in the beginning stages, colon cancer symptoms are rarely noticeable, so it is only people who
regularly go in for a colonoscopy or other colon exam that will be able to catch the disease early. No one likes the thought of a colon exam, as they are certainly unpleasant, but late stage colon cancer symptoms are definitely worse. A doctor is the only one who can determine if your colon cancer symptoms are actually the result of colon cancer.