Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix.

Symptoms

Symptoms of colorectal cancer include:

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• Change in bowel habits.
• Blood in stools (melena, hematochezia).
• Bowel obstruction (rare) by the tumor

Often, the symptoms are much less specific:

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• Unexplained weight loss.
• Anemia, with symptoms such as tiredness, malaise, pallor
• Hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver) due to spreading of the tumor

It is also possible that there will be no symptoms at all. This is one reason why some recommend periodical screening for the disease.

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