Colon cancer can present with pain, swelling, a feeling of unemptied bowels, and blood in the stools. Often these signs go unnoticed, vanishing down the drain with every flush.
That’s why it is important to keep a watchful eye out for abnormalities in your stool, especially if you fall within common age demographics for contracting GI cancers, or have a family history of same.
This conversation offers some guidance from a physician, including what to watch out for. It includes some excellent data on who is most likely to contract colon cancer, and throws in some statistics on family history everyone should know:
Do you have a parent, brother, sister, or child who has had colorectal cancer? That makes you more likely to get it, too. If two or more close family members have had colorectal cancer, then you have about a 15% chance of getting it at some point. If conditions such as familial adenomatous polyposis, MYH-associated polyposis, or hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer run in your family, that raises the risk for colon cancer (and other cancers), too.
There is a lot more good information in the clip and the article; I urge you to read it if you have questions about when to worry, and what to look for.
If you suspect you may have colon cancer, or a related disease of the rectum or anus, please contact the Proctology Institute for the best care in Los Angeles.
