stool is the waste excreted from our intestines and the product after the body digests and absorbs it.
As a product of human metabolism, the shape, color, etc. of the discharge can reflect your intestinal health . Defecation is like a magnifying glass of the intestine. Many intestinal diseases will cause changes to the state of the stool. So when we look back after each bowel movement, we may discover hidden diseases in our bodies.
Someone said: Is there cancer in the body, do I know the stool? This is really not an exaggeration. Defecation is not just a simple waste to us, and the excreted defecation will also bring us the last contribution. In today's era of high incidence of cancer, many early signals of cancer are easily overlooked by people. So when there are any abnormalities in bowel movements, beware of the possibility of intestinal cancer?
1. There are these symptoms during bowel movements. Be careful that it is a sign of intestinal cancer
In recent years, the incidence of intestinal cancer has become increasingly high and is a common digestive tract tumor. The occurrence of bowel cancer is closely related to our lifestyle. Irregular diet, staying up late, smoking, and drinking can all induce the occurrence of bowel cancer. After cancer in the intestine, it will first affect the stool. When the following abnormal stool occurs, be careful of the signal of intestinal cancer:
Each of us has our own bowel movements, which is the so-called bowel habits. Normally, the number of bowel movements is more than 2 times within a week, the defecation time is relatively fixed, the feces are normal and can be discharged better, which are all manifestations of intestinal health. When bowel habits suddenly change, be vigilant.
For example, the original bowel movement was very regular, but now it has become irregular. If diarrhea or constipation caused by unknown reasons occurs, even diarrhea and constipation occur repeatedly. If this change continues to occur for a period of time, it must be taken seriously . This is very likely because the tumor stimulates the intestines, causing stool disorders and causing abnormal bowel movements.
Blood is the most common manifestation of intestinal cancer. It is mainly because after the tumor develops to a certain stage, the feces produce friction when passing through the tumor surface, causing the tumor to rupture and bleeding. The blood is excreted with feces, which are mostly dark red or bright red, and in severe cases, they even contain mucus. Patients generally do not feel pain, so this symptom is easily attributed to hemorrhoids , so it is often ignored.
Under normal circumstances, our intestines will not have bleeding without cause. Whether it is bloody stools at one time or repeated multiple times, you must go to the hospital for treatment in time. When persistent bloody stool or mucus is present, be more vigilant to see if intestinal cancer has occurred .
Normally, the stool we discharge is a banana-like shape with a smooth surface. As cancer cells in the intestine continue to proliferate, enlarged tumors occupy the intestine, making the intestine become narrower and narrower. This will change the shape of the stool, the stool will become thinner or flatter, or there will be obvious signs of depression on one side of the stool.
If the bowel movement is normal and the intestines does not show any symptoms of disease, but recently there are flat or thin stools. Don’t ignore it, it may be a signal of intestinal cancer .
cancer compresses the intestine and changes the stool shape. Therefore, when the shape of the stool changes, you should pay attention to detecting the possibility of intestinal cancer in time and treat it in time.
In addition, intestinal cancer can also bring symptoms such as abdominal pain, anemia , and weight loss. Early symptoms can be discovered in time, and the cure rate is very high, but most patients ignore the early symptoms and are already in the late stage when they are discovered. Therefore, it is recommended that you take a look back after going to the toilet. Once abnormalities are found, you can promptly screen for the possibility of colon cancer.So how should early stage bowel cancer be detected?
2. How to detect early bowel cancer?
Intestinal cancer has a long development period and is growing slowly, so if it can be detected in the early stage, it can effectively reduce the mortality rate. Most patients do not know the high-risk factors of bowel cancer, and are already in the middle and late stages at the time of diagnosis, which is related to the screening methods of bowel cancer. Many people will give up on the screening methods for bowel cancer during physical examinations. Let’s see if there are any projects you have given up.
When the digestive tract is bleeding in a small amount, it is generally difficult to see the bloody feces discharged from the naked eye, and it is often easy to ignore. However, fecal occult blood test can find a small amount of bleeding in the digestive tract, which is of great value to the diagnosis of digestive tract bleeding.
When the tumor erodes the blood vessels of the intestinal tract, causing difficult-to-discover microbleeding, it is difficult for the naked eye to judge. At this time, check through feces and you can find out whether there is any hidden bleeding. So this trial is often used as a screening indicator for early stages of bowel cancer [1]. If the fecal occult blood test is found to be positive during the physical examination, it is recommended to conduct further examinations and promptly confirm .
This examination makes most people feel very embarrassed and feel offended, so most people refuse this examination. However, digital anorectal examination is a simple, non-invasive and economical examination method that can screen more than 70% of bowel cancer.
For rectal tumors about 7 to 8 cm away from the anus, you can directly palpate them with your hands, and you will find that there are nodules of on the rectal mucosa, which can clarify the shape and texture of the tumor. More than half of the intestinal cancers occur in the rectal area, which is very close to the anus and can be found through digital anorectal examination. So don’t give up the opportunity to simply check for bowel cancer because you are afraid of embarrassment.
colonoscopy can clearly observe the intestine, and when suspicious lesions are found, some tissues can be removed for pathological examination, which is conducive to the discovery and diagnosis of early bowel cancer . Even in the stage of cancer or early cancerous development, colonoscopy and minimally invasive treatment can be blocked by blocking the transformation or further development of the cancer.
Due to people's lack of understanding of colon cancer and fear of invasive examination methods such as colonoscopy , few people will take the initiative to perform colonoscopy health checks. This may lead to delayed the disease and missed the best treatment opportunities. With the development of technology, the discomfort of colonoscopy has been greatly reduced. No one has to reject this test. If necessary, colonoscopy can be performed to determine the symptoms.
Early screening is very important for the cure rate of bowel cancer. However, the people have very weak awareness of early screening. Most patients with intestinal cancer have never undergone intestinal cancer screening. They only go to the examination after their body symptoms appear, and the result is an advanced situation. Therefore, for people at high risk of bowel cancer, it is necessary to diagnose and treat early to avoid missing the opportunity for treatment .
3. High-risk factors for developing bowel cancer
The cause of bowel cancer has not been clarified, but its high-risk factors are caused by wrong habits in our daily lives, so it is worth our attention. The development of modern society has also changed our lifestyle and dietary structure, which is also the reason why intestinal cancer comes to us.
People's living standards are gradually improving, and they are no longer struggling in their diet, and big fish and meat are indispensable. This high-fat, high-calorie diet is one of the factors that lead to the high incidence of bowel cancer. In addition, more and more foods are sold through processing, especially processed meat foods. Long-term intake will increase the risk of bowel cancer.
Studies have shown that smoking will increase the prevalence of bowel cancer, and the risk will become higher and higher as the smoking age increases. Excessive drinking will be converted into acetaldehyde after alcohol enters the intestine, which is a carcinogen. Therefore, minimizes smoking cessation and drink alcohol in moderation, which can prevent the occurrence of intestinal cancer .
The intestines and stomach of the human body will metabolize waste and excrete harmful components after activity. People who sit for a long time will have slowed down intestinal and stomach motility, waste and harmful components will remain in the intestines, stimulating the intestinal mucosa, and decreasing intestinal immune function, and the risk of developing intestinal cancer is even higher.
Various pressures in modern society have put many people in anxiety, tension, impatience and other emotions. Long-term mental stress can stimulate the nerve and endocrine system, cause intestinal dysfunction and increase the risk of bowel cancer. The incidence of intestinal cancer is increasing year by year because people do not have enough awareness and importance to intestinal cancer, and fail to detect signs in time and perform corresponding examinations regularly. Another reason is that people’s wrong daily living habits can also lead to a high incidence of bowel cancer. So how should we prevent bowel cancer in daily life?
4. How to prevent intestinal cancer?
compared with the discovery of symptoms, early screening, and preventing the occurrence of bowel cancer are the top priority. Kill the intestinal cancer in bad living habits and prevent it through a healthy and reasonable lifestyle.
Healthy eating habits: In daily life, we should pay attention to the light and balanced diet and try to eat less pickled food. You can consume more high-fiber foods , eat more vegetables and fruits, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, prevent constipation, and to a certain extent prevent the occurrence of intestinal cancer.
Strengthen physical exercise: Sitting for a long time is also a high-risk factor for the occurrence of intestinal cancer and can also cause various other diseases. Therefore, we should conduct physical exercises of a certain intensity based on our physical condition, which can not only regulate the body's intestinal peristalsis, but also keep ourselves energetic.
Cultivate bowel habits: Does simple bowel habits still need to be cultivated? A good bowel movement habit can make us discover the first time when abnormalities occur. Many people have irregular bowel habits, so they don’t care when abnormalities occur, which is one of the reasons why intestinal cancer is easily overlooked. Therefore, we should develop good bowel movement habits and try to actively defecate during a fixed period of time.
Rational medication: Many patients with constipation symptoms often use drugs to solve this problem, resulting in the intestine lacks autonomy, reliance on drugs, and are prone to falling into a vicious cycle. Therefore, we must solve the problem from the source, develop good habits, exercise and eat reasonably, and reduce the use of drugs.
Regular physical examination: For people with high incidence of bowel cancer, regular physical examinations are essential. When there are unexplained stool changes or related symptoms, do not ignore it, it may be intestinal cancer.
The understanding of intestinal cancer needs to be more popular. When there is abnormal stool, it may be a signal from intestinal cancer. Timely screening and early treatment of . We should try to avoid high-risk factors of intestinal cancer in life and prevent them. Everyone doesn’t have to be too afraid of bowel cancer, but they should not be underestimated. The situations that should be paid attention to and early screening are very important.
References:
[1] Chinese Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Standards (2020 Edition). Chinese Journal of Surgery , 2020, 58(08):561-585.
[2] Chen Xiaoping , Wang Jianping, Zhao Jizong, 9th edition of Surgery, Beijing: People's Health Publishing House .2018.418-421.
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