In recent years, the incidence of colorectal cancer has been increasing year by year, and there is a trend of youthfulness. One of the alarming statistics is that foreign literature reports that colorectal cancer patients aged less than 30 years account for 1% of the total number of colorectal cancer, while China’s data shows that it is more than 10%. Four major characteristics of colorectal cancer in young people: First, early detection is rare. Rectal examination is not included in the regular physical examination options, young people lack vigilance to the disease, and young women are too shy to be examined, and the patients diagnosed are already in the middle and late stage, accounting for 50% to 80%, while patients under 20 years old, once diagnosed, are almost all in the middle and late stage. Secondly, the degree of malignancy is high. Among young people diagnosed with colorectal cancer, more than 60% of them have metastasized and spread. Thirdly, there are many missed diagnoses. Clinical statistics show that the average time from discomfort to consultation and final diagnosis is 5 to 15 months for colon cancer patients under 35 years old, and 70% of them are misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids, enteritis and intestinal worms. Fourth, there are many infiltrating cancers. The so-called infiltration refers to the ability of cancer cells to spread to surrounding or deep tissues. Compared with middle-aged and old-aged colorectal cancers, young people have poorly differentiated cancer cells (immaturity) and strong infiltration ability. Therefore, the prognosis is worse, and its 5-year survival rate is only 1/4 of that of middle-aged and old-aged colorectal cancer patients. Blood in stool, frequent diarrhea, abdominal pain and family history should be alerted 1. Blood in stool: Be careful of blood in stool for more than a week Blood in stool is very common among young people with irregular diet and constipation, and most of them will diagnose themselves as hemorrhoids and are too shy to go to the hospital, especially some unmarried women. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is a principle that must be grasped: if there is still bleeding after a week of medication, or if the symptoms recur after the medication has improved, you must go to the hospital in time. Distinguish colorectal cancer from hemorrhoids: The early symptoms of colorectal cancer have many similarities with hemorrhoids, so it is important to distinguish colorectal cancer from hemorrhoids at an early stage. The common point between colon cancer and hemorrhoid is blood in stool, but there are three main differences between them: First, the number of stools of colon cancer patients increases or is irregular, while hemorrhoid patients generally do not increase the number of stools; second, the amount of bleeding and bleeding status are different; when colon cancer bleeds, blood and stool are often mixed together and bleed more, while hemorrhoid bleeding is generally before or after stool and bleeds less; third, when colon cancer develops to a certain level, it will generally cause abdominal pain. Third, colorectal cancer will generally have abdominal pain when it develops to a certain extent, while hemorrhoids will not have abdominal pain. Of course, it is best to go to the hospital and consult with your doctor as soon as you find the problem. 2. Diarrhea: Don’t take diarrhea lightly Some young people will have diarrhea if they don’t pay attention to their diet, and some have constipation from time to time, but they are confident that they are in good health and have healthy capital, so they can “carry through” some problems, or they are busy with their careers and household chores. They are negligent in examination or think that colorectal cancer is a matter for the elderly and relax their vigilance, but in fact, there are often hidden dangers. There was a patient who had a history of long-term diarrhea and was persuaded by friends and relatives to come to the hospital for colonoscopy, which resulted in the discovery of the problem in the sigmoid colon and the diagnosis of early colon cancer after surgery. Because of early detection, the treatment effect was very good, if he had been six months later, it might have been advanced. Therefore, for patients with long-term diarrhea and constipation, if the effect of medication is not good, further examination shall be conducted to exclude the possibility of intestinal cancer. 3.Abdominal pain: abdominal pain must exclude intestinal cancer. Abdominal pain is very common among young people, and it is easy to be ignored by patients because it can be relieved by itself. Only when the abdominal pain is very serious will they come to the hospital, such as patients with intestinal cancer, which is mostly accompanied by intestinal obstruction and delayed. Therefore, for patients with long-term abdominal pain, it is recommended to perform colonoscopy and give symptomatic treatment only after excluding occupying lesions. 4. Family history: genetic, prompting early screening If parents or immediate relatives (such as grandfather, grandfather, uncle, aunt, etc.) have a history of colon cancer or colon polyps, it is more important to pay attention to them and consciously undergo screening. Once abnormalities such as bleeding stool, diarrhea and deformation of stool are detected, it is necessary to contact the doctor for further examination so that problems can be detected and treated at an early stage. In fact, early prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer in young people is entirely possible as long as they are vigilant and seek medical consultation at an early stage. For common symptoms such as stool bleeding, change in stool habit (constipation or diarrhea) and abdominal pain, young people should give up the mentality of fluke and go to hospital for examination in time to find out the problem. In the past, people have a fear of colonoscopy, think it will be very uncomfortable, but with the development of painless endoscopy, now people’s acceptance of colonoscopy has been greatly improved. At the same time, medical workers should also be vigilant, not to take age as an absolute criterion for judging a certain disease, but to pay attention to the patient’s complaints and various necessary tests. As long as we have such a “string” in our hearts, we can definitely achieve early diagnosis and early treatment, and improve the quality of survival of young patients with colorectal cancer.