What are the warning symptoms of colon cancer?
Unfortunately, when colon cancer develops, there are usually few , if any, early warning symptoms. In many cases, patients have had no symptoms at all – until it is too late. That is the problem. Colon cancer is really a silent disease. A colon polyp can be in your colon for many years, but there are no symptoms. Eventually, that polyp may turn into a small cancer, but there are still no symptoms. That cancer may grow larger and still cause no symptoms. Eventually, the cancer is so big that it either begins to bleed or block the passageway. Then there are symptoms of rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, weight loss, or change in bowel habits. By this time, the cancer may have broken through the back wall of the colon and spread to adjacent lymph nodes or on to your liver. This is why doctors recommend periodic checkups of all adults before they have any symptoms. It is much more fun to prevent colon cancer then to find one.
