Bowel cancer: Dr Amir explains symptoms to look out for
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Symptoms of bowel cancer are not always by the book. While various tell-tale signs can crop up, ticking off each item from the key symptom list, some patients report only infrequent solo problems. Jaimin Patel, from London, who was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2014, only noticed one sign that came and went.
While checking the toilet bowl after you just went for a number two might make you feel squeamish, knowing your bowel habits could help you spot any problematic changes.
Jaimin knows this far too well, as the first symptom cropped up in his poo.
He told Bowel Cancer UK: “Early 2013, I noticed blood in my stool and went to see the GP.
“He did a quick rectal scan and I was sent for a blood test.
READ MORE: Menorrhagia is one of the most ‘common signs’ of cancer – ‘Seek appointment with your GP’
“I didn’t notice any more blood and so I didn’t chase the results until the end of the year when it flared up again.”
The man went back to see his GP, who referred him for a colonoscopy that revealed “malignant tumours”.
“I remember thinking at the time that my GP didn’t think much of my symptoms as I was 30 – very young for bowel cancer – and generally healthy,” he added.
Blood in the stool is one of the tell-tale signs of bowel cancer, according to the NHS.
Cancerous rectal bleeding can be also linked with other changes in your bowel habits.
According to the health service, other “main” symptoms of the daunting condition include:
- Persistent change in your bowel habit (having to poo more and your poo may also become more runny)
- Persistent lower abdominal (tummy) pain, bloating or discomfort (always caused by eating)
- Loss of appetite
- Significant unintentional weight loss.
The health service recommends seeing a GP if you have any of the symptoms of bowel cancer for three weeks or more.
READ MORE: The popular ‘anti-inflammatory’ spice that could help reduce visceral fat in ‘weeks’
After getting the gloomy diagnosis, Jaimin had to undergo surgery and chemotherapy.
Sadly, this wasn’t the end of his cancer journey. Review tests revealed a tumour in his liver and growth on his lung in 2016.
Later that year, he had further operations to target the pesky growths in these locations.
Jaimin said: “Currently I have three-monthly scans and hopefully if the cancer stays clear, I will move back to a scan every six months.
“I had a very difficult time coming to terms with it initially, but having researched more about the treatment, I became more positive with the help of my family and friends.
“I am a lot more aware of what I eat and how I live my life.
“But help and support from friends and family has meant I have not struggled as much as I would have thought from the changes I had to make.
“I’m trying to stay as positive as I can; my wife is pregnant with our first child so I have a lot to live for.”
Source: Read Full Article