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Symptoms of Bowel Cancer

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“Was it something I ate?” is a perfectly natural query in response to a change in bowel habits but may not necessarily be the case.

People often justify their symptoms as something else, such as ‘something I ate’, or ‘it’s just due to stress’, but when there’s a consistent change in your bowel habit, you should seek advice.

The best way to protect yourself against bowel cancer is to know the symptoms, and chat to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer so there’s little cause for concern, but here’s what to be aware of:

Blood in your poo or bleeding from your backside. Bright red blood may be associated with piles or haemorrhoids in the back passage. Darker blood is more serious and may come from your bowel or stomach. It might seem a bit obvious and a little unpleasant but check the loo paper.

Change in bowel habit that persists for more than three weeks such as diarrhoea, constipation or going to the toilet more frequently than usual.

Abdominal pain – this could be constant or intermittent such as cramps.

Tiredness, dizziness and breathlessness – this could be linked to anaemia which means you have an iron deficiency which is a lack of red blood cells. A simple test can be carried out to check for this.

Unexplained weight loss not associated with you dieting or increased exercise. You might be feeling nauseous or bloated and lose your appetite.

Combat the Cringe

Let’s face it, many people feel embarrassed to speak to anyone, let alone their doctor, about their toilet habits.

Yet if you found a suspicious looking mole or lump, you’d almost certainly book an appointment.

Doctors are accustomed to speaking to people with bowel problems and would much rather you raise your concerns. When caught early, bowel cancer has one of the highest survival rates.

The uncomfortable truth is that embarrassment and lack of knowledge of the symptoms costs lives.