What are the early symptoms of rectal cancer

The earlier any disease is discovered, the better. The less harm it will cause to the body. Rectal cancer is one of our common malignant tumors. Don't be scared by yourself. When you find that you have symptoms of rectal cancer, you must maintain a good attitude, go to the hospital for diagnosis in time, and never treat it recklessly.

What are the early symptoms of rectal cancer?

The absorption of food is mainly completed in the small intestine. By the time the food reaches the colon and even the rectum, it has become waste for excretion. After people chew their food, it passes through the small intestine first to the right colon, then to the left colon, and finally to the rectum.

When food residues reach the right colon, some liquid is still not completely absorbed. At this time, the intestinal contents are liquid. Because the right colon is wider, obstruction rarely occurs. However, this type of tumor often has the characteristics of secondary infection and chronic toxin absorption.

Therefore, patients with right colon cancer often have symptoms such as low-grade fever, night sweats, general fatigue, and anemia. When food residues reach the left colon, they are completely transformed into unabsorbable residues, and the original liquid state becomes semi-solid. Because the intestinal cavity of the left colon is narrower, the smaller intestinal cavity quickly narrows, so it is easy to have symptoms of low intestinal obstruction such as abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and constipation.

The rectum is at the end of the digestive tract. In the early stage, rectal cancer lesions are only on the intestinal mucosa, and there may be no obvious symptoms. However, as the condition gradually worsens, there may be local irritation symptoms of the tumor, which are manifested as an increase in the number of bowel movements, from the normal 1-2 times a day to 3-4 times or more, and unformed stools. Anal discomfort, a feeling of falling, sometimes dull abdominal pain, and sometimes bloody and mucus in the stool.

Pay attention to early rectal cancer in life

The reasons for the thinning of stools include, excluding sudden changes in diet or living environment, hemorrhoids, rectal cancer and rectal polyps, which may also cause the stools to become thinner.

Rectal cancer causes thin stools, which is more common in people over 40 years old. There are often no obvious symptoms in the early stages. The stools of patients with rectal cancer are often accompanied by blood, mucus, and adhesions with pus. In addition, bowel habits change, with alternating diarrhea and constipation.

The frequency of bowel movements increases, the stool becomes thinner, the anus often has irritation symptoms, and the patient often wants to defecate, which is usually called tenesmus. Rectal cancer patients may also experience changes in systemic symptoms, such as obvious weight loss and anemia in a short period of time.

Warm reminder: In life, many people tend to mistake rectal cancer for hemorrhoids, which can easily delay the best time to treat rectal cancer. Therefore, when your body has some unexplained symptoms such as blood in the stool and thin stools, and cannot recover for a long time, you must go to the hospital for examination in time.