I believe that almost everyone has experienced diarrhea from bad food. When you have diarrhea, your abdomen may feel painful, and in severe cases, you may vomit and have diarrhea, which is very unpleasant. If you have long-term diarrhea or diarrhea accompanied by the following symptoms, it may be a signal of some cancers, so you must seek medical attention in time to find out the cause of the disease and receive proper diagnosis and treatment.
1.Colorectal cancer
Constipation and diarrhea are very common in daily life, and these two symptoms may also be signals of bowel cancer. Colorectal cancer includes colon cancer and rectal cancer, which are mostly related to chronic inflammation of the colon, colorectal adenoma, high fat and low fiber diet, genetics and genes, etc. Early symptoms of colorectal cancer are usually not obvious, and with the development of cancer, patients will gradually appear abdominal pain, stool bleeding, intestinal obstruction, abdominal mass and other symptoms.
Changes in bowel habits and stool traits are important indicators for early detection of rectal and colorectal cancer. As the tumor and its secretions stimulate the intestine, it will make people with regular bowel movements suddenly become frequent or significantly reduce the number of bowel movements, alternate constipation and diarrhea, morning diarrhea, etc. Especially when it is accompanied by mucus and blood stool, pus and blood stool, blood in stool in bright red or jam color, etc., or unexplained anemia, wasting and weakness, it is more important to be highly alert. When symptoms of colorectal cancer appear, it is important for patients to seek medical treatment in time.
At the early stage of colon cancer, there is also the symptom of blood in the stool, which is especially easy to be confused with hemorrhoids, leading many patients to be in advanced stage when they are diagnosed. Colorectal cancer is easily misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids in the early stage, and more than 70% of colorectal cancer patients are misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids.
The main reason for the high misdiagnosis rate is that there are many similarities between the clinical manifestations of anorectal tumors and hemorrhoids, such as blood in stool and increased frequency of stool. In addition, rectal cancer may compress the rectal vein and block the blood return, thus secondary to hemorrhoids, so the lesion is more easily hidden by the appearance of hemorrhoids. In fact, all these can be avoided, no matter how similar the symptoms are, as long as anoscopy is done and pathology should be done, most of the anorectal tumors can be detected early.
In addition, there are still subtle differences upon careful observation. For example, if the bleeding is caused by hemorrhoids, then the blood is separate from the stool; if it is caused by tumors, usually the blood and stool are mixed together.
Some patients may also find that the stool is mixed with mucus, just like thick sputum, which is a danger sign that it may be enteritis or the cancer may break out and become infected.
2.Stomach cancer
Stomach cancer ranks first among all kinds of malignant tumors in China, mostly related to Helicobacter pylori infection, genetics and genes, dietary habits and other factors.
If sudden unexplained diarrhea, black stools, accompanied by loss of appetite, weakness, as well as nausea, burning sensation in the stomach, vague pain or distension in the upper abdomen and other symptoms occur, the possibility of tumor should be considered. Especially, middle-aged people on 40 years old and those who usually suffer from chronic peptic ulcers should pay more attention and do gastroscopy and other screening in time.
Since gastric cancer occurs in the higher part of the abdomen, it is usually presented as diarrhea symptoms. The diarrhea caused by gastric cancer is different from the general diarrhea, as it is usually accompanied by painful distension in the upper abdomen and does not cause constipation.
3.Liver cancer
Liver cancer is usually accompanied by cirrhosis, which may lead to portal vein hypertension or embolism, causing edema of the intestinal wall, accelerated intestinal peristalsis, and disruption of digestive and secretory functions, thus causing diarrhea. Studies have shown that about half of primary liver cancer patients will have diarrhea 3 months before diagnosis, and the number of diarrhea varies from 2 to 20 times each time. Therefore, if a patient with cirrhosis has diarrhea of unknown origin, he or she must remember to seek medical attention in a timely manner.
Among liver cancer patients, there are many cases where diarrhea is the first symptom. According to the statistics of 3254 cases of liver cancer patients, 5.8% of them had diarrhea as the first symptom.
The reason for diarrhea is that liver cancer cells can produce substances such as gastrin, vasoactive peptide and prostaglandin F2 in the process of division and proliferation.
Therefore, patients with daily diarrhea should not be treated as chronic enteritis or malabsorption syndrome. You should go to the hospital quickly for necessary tests such as serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), ultrasound and CT to confirm the diagnosis as early as possible.
For middle-aged and elderly people, especially those with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, if there is discomfort in the upper right side of the abdomen, enlargement of the liver area, stuffy pain and gradual aggravation, or loss of appetite and gradual weight loss, they should go to the hospital as soon as possible to receive ultrasound, liver function, AFP and other tests to find out the cause.
4.Isloblastoma of the pancreas
Islet cell tumor is a tumor that occurs in the islet cells of the pancreas and is often seen in people between the ages of 20 and 50. Islet cell tumor often causes diarrhea due to peptic ulcer disease, and patients usually have diarrhea after consuming excessive fat and cholesterol, as well as nausea, weakness, and weight loss.
Because the location of the pancreas is often obscured by the stomach and transverse colon, pancreatic lesions are not easily detected by ordinary examination, and the early diagnosis rate of pancreatic cancer is low. Some patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer will suffer from chronic diarrhea due to pancreatic dysfunction.
Therefore, if there is unexplained upper abdominal discomfort, along with symptoms such as recurrent diarrhea, steatorrhea, dyspepsia, lower back pain, jaundice not caused by gallstones, etc. and unexplained weight loss, it is important to pay attention and seek medical examination in time. This is especially true for high-risk groups with a history of long-term smoking, chronic pancreatitis, and a family history of pancreatic cancer.
Diarrhea and diarrhea are very common, but if they are accompanied by the above-mentioned symptoms, do not take them lightly, find out the risk factors of the disease hidden in the body, diagnose the cause in time, and try to treat the disease as soon as possible.