CATEGORIES
What are the symptoms
The common symptoms are:
Blood in your motions or black motions should not be ignored, even if blood is only seen on a single occasion. It should always be reported to your G.P. so that the cause may be determined.
A change in your bowel habit
In most individuals the bowels acts on a regular basis ranging from daily, to two to three times a week, but in each person the pattern is consistent.
Bowel habit may be disturbed by anxiety, eating different foods or by major upsets such as moving house or changing jobs. A tummy bug or infection will also dramatically change your usual pattern. However, all these things generally cause only temporary changes.
If you notice a change in the pattern of your bowel habit, which persists for say 6 - 8 weeks, and for which there is no reasonable explanation, you should seek advice from your G.P.
Weight loss and Anaemia
Sometimes cancer of the bowel interferes with digestion of food and can cause weight loss or anaemia from bleeding. If you are losing weight for no apparent reason or have become excessively tired or short of breath from anaemia you should see your G.P.
Pain in the abdomen (tummy)
Pain from bowel cancer is usually felt in the lower abdomen below the umbilicus (tummy button) and is sometimes associated with pain or discomfort in the back passage. It is often of a griping or squeezing nature and sometimes associated with the desire to open the bowels. In addition nausea and a bloated feeling in the abdomen may accompany it.
Remember; many other diseases in the bowel may cause these symptoms and if you have them it does not necessarily mean you have cancer. However, it is vital to check with your doctor to make certain there is nothing seriously wrong.
The common symptoms are:
Blood in your motions or black motions should not be ignored, even if blood is only seen on a single occasion. It should always be reported to your G.P. so that the cause may be determined.
A change in your bowel habit
In most individuals the bowels acts on a regular basis ranging from daily, to two to three times a week, but in each person the pattern is consistent.
Bowel habit may be disturbed by anxiety, eating different foods or by major upsets such as moving house or changing jobs. A tummy bug or infection will also dramatically change your usual pattern. However, all these things generally cause only temporary changes.
If you notice a change in the pattern of your bowel habit, which persists for say 6 - 8 weeks, and for which there is no reasonable explanation, you should seek advice from your G.P.
Weight loss and Anaemia
Sometimes cancer of the bowel interferes with digestion of food and can cause weight loss or anaemia from bleeding. If you are losing weight for no apparent reason or have become excessively tired or short of breath from anaemia you should see your G.P.
Pain in the abdomen (tummy)
Pain from bowel cancer is usually felt in the lower abdomen below the umbilicus (tummy button) and is sometimes associated with pain or discomfort in the back passage. It is often of a griping or squeezing nature and sometimes associated with the desire to open the bowels. In addition nausea and a bloated feeling in the abdomen may accompany it.
Remember; many other diseases in the bowel may cause these symptoms and if you have them it does not necessarily mean you have cancer. However, it is vital to check with your doctor to make certain there is nothing seriously wrong.