Can blood in the stool be an indication of intestinal cancer?
Bowel cancer only shows early symptoms in very rare cases. The cancer often grows unnoticed and leads to pain, digestive problems, blood in the stool and numerous other symptoms only very late. However, occasional bleeding on its surface is typical of colorectal cancer due to the nature of the tumor and the rapid, diffuse growth of the cells.
Permanent bleeding that persists for weeks and is not caused by an infection or other intestinal disease can therefore be an important indication of intestinal cancer. For colorectal cancer screening, the so-called “haemoccult test” is recommended and accepted annually for every person in Germany from the age of 50. This test can detect even the smallest bleeding at an early stage. Since the significance of the bleeding alone is not high, a colonoscopy must be performed afterwards to see and examine a potential cancer more closely.
Accompanying symptoms of blood in stool
In addition to traces of blood in the stool, there is often accompanying abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite, as well as weeping and itching of the anus. Some affected persons also report fecal incontinence associated with the symptoms or the feeling of not being able to empty the bowel completely. Swelling or lumps can also be felt and palpable.
Persons affected with tarry stools also frequently vomit. Tarry stools occur when there is blood in the stomach, where it is digested by stomach acid. Blood should not normally be in the stomach and is a sign for the body that something is wrong, which causes vomiting.
This is why vomiting of blood (haematemesis) often, but not always, accompanies tarry stools. If the bleeding is caused by a malignant disease, this is often accompanied by weight loss. In addition, increased night-time sweating and fever can also occur.
These three symptoms are referred to as the so-called B-symptoms, which are often found in malignant diseases. Furthermore, intestinal cancer often leads to so-called paradoxical diarrhoea, in which a phase of diarrhoea is followed by a phase of constipation. If there has been bleeding for some time, signs of anaemia such as tiredness, exhaustion and poor performance can become apparent.
Flatulence is a very common and annoying symptom. They can occur in both healthy and sick persons and are not initially indicative of a possible disease. Those affected are often uncomfortable with flatulence, but they should consult a doctor, especially if there is blood in the stool.
Flatulence is a typical symptom of constipation, intestinal cancer, intestinal infections and numerous other intestinal diseases. However, they can also be attributed to certain eating habits or lack of exercise. In rare cases, back pain can be caused by the intestines.
Depending on the location of the complaints in the intestine, individual intestinal loops can press on the spine or the coccyx. In the case of large foreign bodies or severe constipation, back pain is not a rare symptom. For example, a large tumour located in areas of the intestine or rectum close to the back can relatively often lead to pain in the coccyx and lumbar spine.
Back pain must also be clarified orthopedically, since in most cases simple muscle tension or spinal complaints are behind the symptom. The most common accompanying symptom of blood in the stool is abdominal pain. Pain can be caused by numerous underlying diseases and indicates changes in bowel movement, blockages caused by large foreign bodies or injuries to the mucous membranes or the bowel wall.
In most cases, only a temporary change in digestion is behind the abdominal pain. Both constipation and diarrhoea can cause abdominal pain and blood in the stool. The blood often comes from minor injuries to the inner intestinal mucous membranes.
Anal fissures can also occur in a similar way. These cause less often abdominal pain, but pain at the bowel outlet. Rare and dangerous causes of abdominal pain can be an intestinal blockage or intestinal cancer.
In some cases the blockage may even be caused by the cancer. Depending on its location, enormously strong, cramp-like pain can occur. There is an urgent need for action here.
Abdominal pain with blood in the stool, which occurs during pregnancy, should also be examined more closely by a doctor. This can be caused by numerous problems, which in the worst case can even endanger the pregnancy. The simultaneous presence of blood in the stool and urine is very rare, as both organ systems are normally separated from each other.
In these cases, there is either a simultaneous disease of the urinary tract or an unphysiological (normally non-existent) connection between the intestine and the urinary tract. Blood in the urine can be caused by inflammation of the urinary tract, the bladder or the kidneys. They can occur particularly in women when germs from the intestines enter the urinary tract.
Injuries to the urinary tract can also cause bleeding. Very rarely, fistulas of the intestine can form in parts of the urinary or genital tract. In these cases, bleeding in urine and stool may also occur.
One cause of the simultaneous presence of blood in stool and urine in women can be endometriosis. In this disease, parts of the lining of the uterus also grow outside the uterus in various organs. With the monthly period, the parts of the mucous membrane outside the uterus also bleed, so that bleeding from the bladder or intestine can occur.
