This is a question I have to answer many times a day in the clinic. The classic statement is “rectal cancer can be misdiagnosed because of hemorrhoids”, but the most common phenomenon I encounter in the clinic is that patients are in a panic because of the symptoms of hemorrhoids (usually bleeding), and once the symptoms of hemorrhoids get better, they leave the possibility of rectal cancer behind. There should be a more precise interpretation of this statement. Zhang Yupeng, General Surgery Department, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University
First, let me tell you three basic facts.
1. colorectal cancer is a fatal disease, currently occurring in up to 3-5 per 10,000 people in large cities in China.
2. Hemorrhoids are a manifestation of anal aging, and their incidence in the population increases with age, from about 20% at age 20 to 70% at age 60 or older.
3. Hemorrhoids do not have any influence on the incidence of rectal cancer, but because there are similar sites of occurrence, they can have similar symptoms and interfere with clinical judgment.
Send four words to our patients and friends: “Be vigilant, find out assured, standardize cancer prevention, and treat hemorrhoids together”