Colorectal cancer has been called the “invisible killer” of life and health, because it has almost no symptoms in its early stage, and when patients have symptoms such as blood in stool and then go to the hospital for examination, it is often in advanced stage, missing the best treatment time.
80% of colorectal cancer is already in advanced stage when detected
Although the five-year survival rate of colorectal cancer can reach 60%-70%, nearly 80% of the patients diagnosed clinically are already in advanced stage!
Compared with other tumors, colorectal cancer has to go through the pathological process of polyp – adenoma – tumor, and it takes longer time to develop from pre-clinical lesions to tumor. If the lesions can be detected at an early stage, the five-year survival rate of patients can actually reach 80% to 90%.
If you are over 45 years old and still have GI symptoms such as blood in stool and frequent stools, colonoscopy is recommended every 3 to 5 years!
Be careful with these symptoms
If the following symptoms appear suddenly, you should pay more attention and go to the hospital for screening as soon as possible.
Change in bowel habits
In the early stage, diarrhea, constipation or alternating diarrhea and constipation may occur. As the tumor continues to grow, progressive constipation may occur due to narrowing of the intestinal lumen.
Abdominal pain and bloating discomfort
As the tumor continues to grow, some patients will experience abdominal distension and discomfort, often vague and uncomfortable, and may have no gastrointestinal symptoms. Due to the lack of specificity, it often goes unnoticed.
Blood in stool
Blood in stool is mainly caused by the friction between stool and tumor surface. As the tumor grows, necrosis and ulcers appear and secretion increases, the blood in stool increases and becomes bright red. When the blood stays in the intestinal tract for a long time, it becomes dark red and is mixed with stool, and sometimes blood clots appear.
Anemia
Tumor growth requires large amount of blood supply. Therefore, with the gradual growth of tumor, patients may have different degrees of anemia, but not the more severe the anemia is, the more advanced the patient is. Some patients with right-sided colon cancer often have unexplained anemia, weakness and fatigue symptoms first.
Are you a high-risk group?
People who have the following bad habits should pay attention, you are probably the high-risk group of colon cancer!
Overweight and obesity
”Overweight or obese people have a higher risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer than those with normal weight, and men with large bellies have a higher chance of being “hit”.
Eating too much meat
If you are a meatless person who likes to eat a lot of red meat (e.g. beef, pork, lamb) and processed meat (e.g. hot dogs and some luncheon meats), you may be at increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Smoking and alcohol abuse
Long-term smokers are more likely to develop colorectal cancer than nonsmokers. Colorectal cancer has been shown to be associated with alcohol abuse. It is recommended that men have no more than two drinks per day and women have no more than one drink per day.
Lack of exercise
Long-term lack of exercise slows down intestinal peristalsis, and harmful components in feces, including carcinogens, will remain in the colon and irritate the intestinal mucosa, thus increasing the risk of colorectal cancer.
Too fine diet
If the diet is too fine, there will be a lack of dietary fiber in the body, which will prolong the residence time of feces in the intestine and cause the re-absorption of waste products in the intestine, thus increasing the probability of colorectal cancer.