Colorectal cancer does not occur overnight. But the first signs are uncharacteristic and there is no pain, so the symptoms are easily dismissed as a condition and early-stage colorectal cancer is often discovered only by chance. The fact that there are no reliable early symptoms of colorectal cancer makes early detection all the more significant. To find out which warning signs may indicate colorectal cancer and which screening tests you are entitled to, read here.
Colorectal cancer: symptoms
With colorectal cancer, there are often initially non-specific symptoms, such as:
- An unspecified decrease in performance
- Increased fatigue
- Pale skin
- Unclear weight loss
- Possibly slight fever
- Unusually strong night sweats
All these general symptoms are uncharacteristic, but can be early indications of developing colorectal cancer. Because they are too ambiguous, they are usually not properly evaluated and the colon cancer has time to develop. Bowel movements: 13 questions and answers
3 typical warning signs of colorectal cancer
The first signs of colorectal cancer, which should definitely serve as a typical warning signal and give reason to visit the doctor without further delay, are:
- Visible mucus or blood in the stool (which can lead to a red or dark to black stool) or pencil-thin stool and foul-purulent stool odor.
- Change in bowel habits, especially alternation between diarrhea and constipation, but also frequent urge to defecate or recurrent constipation
- Recurrent abdominal pain, sometimes crampy, lasting more than a week, and foul-smelling flatulence, especially with accompanying defecation or pain during defecation
The symptom of flatulence with defecation is also called the “symptom of the false friend”.
Signs of colon cancer in the rectum
In an English study of 5,500 colorectal cancer patients, repeated intestinal bleeding and changes in bowel habits proved to be the most conclusive signs of colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, it can never be said: no blood, therefore no colorectal cancer. Since blood in the stool is also frequently found in hemorrhoids, blood deposits should not simply be dismissed, but a thorough examination for colorectal cancer should be performed even if hemorrhoids are present at the same time. If the colorectal cancer is localized in the rectum, it often causes painful bowel movements and blood deposits mixed with mucus. If the tumor already narrows the rectum, the result is a so-called “pencil stool” and involuntary bowel movements and wind. Particularly in the case of an intestinal tumor on the right side, a hardening is occasionally palpable. 6 Facts About Colorectal Cancer – iStock.com/Ivanna Olijnyk
Use early detection of colorectal cancer as an opportunity
It shouldn’t come to this. The goal of early detection of colorectal cancer is to detect and remove colorectal cancer at an early stage, when it is not yet causing symptoms. This is because colorectal cancer is 100 percent curable if detected early. And there are good opportunities to do so: Colorectal cancer develops slowly; it takes about five to ten years for a precancerous stage – a benign adenoma – to turn into a malignant tumor through continued genetic changes.
Screening for early detection of colorectal cancer
More than 90 percent of colorectal cancers develop at the base of a pre-existing adenoma, which can be detected and removed very well in time during a colonoscopy. After the age of 50, the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases rapidly. Legally insured persons are entitled to the following preventive examinations as part of the early detection of colorectal cancer from this age:
- From the 50th to the 54th year of life annually a stool examination for hidden blood and a palpation of the rectum.
- From the age of 55, women have the right to choose between a total of two colonoscopies (colonoscopy) at intervals of ten years or a stool examination for hidden blood every two years. Men can already take advantage of colonoscopy from the age of 50 and thus choose whether they want to have the colonoscopy twice or a stool blood test once a year (up to 54 years) or every two years (from 55 years).
Preventive medical checkups are underused
If there is a familial risk of colorectal cancer or an increased risk due to inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, colorectal cancer screening should be started much earlier, depending on the type of risk. Since 2002, the Felix Burda Foundation has proclaimed the month of March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in order to raise public awareness of this issue. This is because, unfortunately, the screening examinations for the early detection of colorectal cancer are still taken up far too little by those who are entitled to them. Only 34 percent of women and 17 percent of men take advantage of the opportunity to prevent colorectal cancer from developing at an early stage. Yet nearly 26,700 people in Germany still fall victim to colorectal cancer every year. Cancer: these symptoms can be warning signs
