Introduction
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor (also known as carcinoma), which is located in the intestine. This is mainly referred to as colon cancer, as small intestine carcinomas are a rather rare disease. Bowel cancer occupies second place among the most common cancers in Germany, regardless of gender. As more than 6% of the population will develop a carcinoma of the intestinal tract during their lifetime, it is important to know how to detect intestinal cancer.
Colon Cancer Screening
Since the probability of developing colorectal cancer increases with age, preventive medical checkups have been paid for by health insurance companies since 2002 and are thus subsidized. Early detection plays an enormous role in the course and prognosis and should be taken seriously by everyone. In addition to the examinations carried out by the doctor, there are also possibilities to take care of your own body, to interpret signs correctly and to detect intestinal cancer. Preventive measures, which everyone should take care of on their own, are also an important aspect of disease prevention. All this, however, is of course no substitute for going to the doctor.
You can recognize colon cancer by these typical symptoms
The danger of colorectal cancer is that there are hardly any early symptoms and the tumor disease often remains undetected for too long. The first changes in the colon are usually small polyps or so-called “adenomas”. They are neither painful nor hinder digestion, so no symptoms or restrictions are to be expected.
Even if a malignant carcinoma is already present, it often grows for a very long time and can spread in the body before the first symptoms appear. Important indications of bowel cancer are above all constipation and bleeding in the bowel. The latter often manifest themselves as small, dark blood spots in the stool.
If constipation occurs, the tumour must already have filled large parts of the intestinal tract, so that digestion is hindered. In the case of a cancer of the rectum, the so-called “rectal carcinoma”, the symptoms can appear earlier, as blockages are easier and more likely to occur here. In this form of cancer of the rectum, the changes can sometimes be seen and felt from the outside of the rectum.
Other symptoms of bowel cancer can be the so-called “B-symptoms”. These are not symptoms that are caused locally in the intestine by the growing tumour, but are due to a weakening of the entire body. Advanced cancer is often accompanied by these general symptoms, which can manifest themselves as a performance kink, fatigue, rapid weight loss, slight fever and limited general well-being.
You can recognize colon cancer by this pain
Bowel cancer rarely manifests itself with pain. If pain occurs, it is usually associated with severe disturbances of bowel movement and digestion. If the cancer blocks the bowel to a large extent or lies unfavourably in the bowel outlet, constipation, pain during bowel movement or even complete bowel obstruction can occur.
The latter are also called “mechanical ileus” and represent a highly acute, life-threatening clinical picture. This can lead to cramp-like pain with a bloated abdomen. Furthermore, the tumour can cause pain in the abdominal cavity if it becomes so large that it presses on surrounding organs, pain-sensitive structures or against the abdominal wall. However, pain is not a reliable symptom of colon cancer. On the one hand, many intestinal tumours occur without pain, and on the other hand, existing abdominal pain is not specific for intestinal cancer.
