Symptoms of Colon Cancer
In its early stage, colon cancer usually has no symptoms. In most cases, the cancers develop slowly over a period of several years, most beginning as a polyp.
Symptoms can include:
- A change in bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool that lasts for more than a few days
- A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that doesn’t go away even after doing so
- Bleeding from the rectum or blood in the stool (often the stool will look normal)
- Unexplained weight loss
- Cramping or steady stomach pain
- Weakness and tiredness
These symptoms do not mean you have cancer but to be sure, talk to your doctor about a screening. The goal of screening is to find polyps and cancers before they cause symptoms and prevent some cancers by the detection and removal of polyps.
