Symptoms of Colon Cancer in Females

Symptoms of colon cancer in females - Many of the symptoms of colon cancer can also be caused by the fact that it is not cancer such as infection, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease. In most cases, people who have these symptoms are not cancer.
Symptoms of Colon Cancer in Females

However, if you have any of these problems, it is an indication that you should consult a doctor so that if necessary it was possible to find and treat the cause:
  • Change bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of stools that lasts more than a few days
  • The feeling that you need to have a bowel movement, which is not exempt from this
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Black stools or blood in the stool
  • Pain cramping or abdominal (belly)
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Unintentional weight loss

When colon cancer is the cause, symptoms often appear only after the cancer has grown or spread. That is why it is best to get tested for colon cancer before any symptoms. Colon cancer that is detected through screening tests that are done on people without symptoms, it is usually easier to treat. Screening can even prevent some types of colon cancer by detection and removal of precancerous tumors called polyps.

Symptoms of Colon cancer in Females: Screening can SaveYour Life

Because colon cancer often does not cause symptoms until then, until it is developed, the American cancer society recommends regular colon cancer screening for most men starting at age 50. People with a family history of the disease or with certain other risk factors should talk with their Doctor about beginning screening at a younger age. For colon cancer screening, you can use a few different tests. Talk to your doctor to learn which tests may be useful to you.
See also: Liver Cancer Symptoms in Females
When colon cancer is detected early, before it has spread, the 5-year relative survival rate is 90%. This means that 9 out of 10 people with cancer an early stage survive at least 5 years. But if the cancer had chance to spread beyond the colon, survival rates below.

How do they Know if it's Cancer?

If your doctor finds something suspicious during a screening test or have any symptoms associated with colon cancer, your doctor probably will recommend exams and tests to find the cause.

Your doctor may want to obtain a complete medical history to check for symptoms and risk factors, including your family history. 1 in 5 people who develop colon cancer have other family members - especially parents, brothers and sisters or children - which it was. (However, most cases of colon cancer occur in people without a family history.)

Other problems with the colon can also increase the risk. This includes pre-cancerous polyps, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and hereditary syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary non-polypoid colorectal cancer (HNPCC), also known as Lynch syndrome. The presence of type 2 diabetes can also increase risk.

As part of the physical examination, the doctor will carefully feel your abdomen and examine the rest of your body. You can also get certain blood tests to help determine whether you have colon cancer.

Your doctor may also recommend more tests, such as colonoscopy or x-ray or CT scan of your colon. If you strongly suspect cancer of the colon, colonoscopy is usually performed, and any abnormal region are subjected to biopsy. In a biopsy, the doctor removes tiny pieces of tissue using a special tool through the scope. Then a biopsy examined under the microscope for cancer cells.
See also: Symptoms of Stomach Cancer in Females
If you are diagnosed with colon cancer, treatment depends on how early it is detected, but can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy. It is important for you to be Frank and to speak frankly with your doctor and ask questions if you do not understand something. Here is a list of questions you ask your doctor what you can take with you.

The signs and symptoms of colon cancer include:
  • Change bowel habits, including diarrhea or constipation or change the consistency of your stool that lasts for more than four weeks
  • Rectal bleeding or blood in the stool
  • Constant abdominal discomfort, such as cramps, gas or pain
  • You feel your bowel is not completely empty
  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Unexplained weight loss

Many people who have colon cancer have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. When symptoms do appear, they may vary depending on the size and location of the cancer in the colon.

When you need to go to the doctor
If you notice any symptoms of colon cancer such as blood in the stool or changes in bowel habits, make an appointment with the doctor. Talk with your doctor if you begin to make detection of colon cancer. Recommendations tend to recommend colon cancer screening beginning at the age of 50 years. Your doctor may recommend screening more often or earlier if you have other risk factors such as history of illness in the family.

The reason
In most cases, it is not clear what causes colon cancer. Doctors know that colon cancer occurs when healthy cells in the large intestine produce errors in their DNA. Healthy cells grow and divide in an orderly way, to maintain the normal function of your body. But when cellular DNA is damaged and becomes cancerous, cells continue to divide even though you may not need new cells. When the cells accumulate, forming tumors.

With time, cancer cells can grow, invade and destroy normal tissue nearby. And the cancer cells can move to other parts of the body.

Genetic mutation of inheritance which increases the risk of colon cancer

Gene mutation of inheritance which increases the risk of cancer of the colon you can walk through the family, but the gene inherited is associated with only a small percentage of colon cancer. Mutation of the genetic heritage does not make inevitable the cancer, but may increase the risk of cancer in humans.

Forms of the syndrome of inherited cancer of the large intestine:
  • Hereditary colorectal cancer neurological cancer (HNPCC). HNPCC, also called Lynch syndrome, increases the risk of colon cancer and other types of cancer. People with HNPCC tend to develop colon cancer before the age of 50.
  • Family adenomatous polyposis (FAP). FAP is a rare problem that causes you to develop thousands of polyps in the lining of the colon and rectum. People who have FAP are not treated have a higher risk of colon cancer up to 40 years.

FAP, HNPCC and other, syndrome of colon cancer inherited unlikely to be detected by genetic testing. If you are concerned about the history of colon cancer, talk with your doctor about whether your family history, you have the risk of this condition.

The association between diet and increased risk of colon cancer

The study of the large group shows the relationship between the western diet that a typical and an increased risk of colon cancer. Food typical western high fat and fiber low. When people move from the area in which the diet of the typical low fat and high fiber in the area where the western diet is the most common, the risk of colon cancer in people is much higher. It is not clear why this happens, but researchers are studying whether a diet high in fat and low in fiber in the microbes that live in the colon, or cause significant inflammation, which may contribute to the development of cancer. This is an area of active research, and research-in-progress.

Symptoms of Colon cancer in Females: Risk Factors

Factors that may increase the risk of colon cancer include:
  • Older age. The vast majority of people diagnosed with colon cancer age 50. Colon cancer can occur in young people, but it is more or less the same.
  • African-American race. African-Americans have a higher risk of developing colon cancer than other nations.
  • Personal history of polyps colorectal or cancer. If you already have colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps, you have a higher risk of developing colon cancer in the future.
  • inflammatory bowel disease. chronic inflammatory diseases of the colon, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, can increase the risk of cancer of the large intestine.
  • Inherited syndrome which increases the risk of colon cancer. genetic syndromes, transmitted through the generations of your family, can increase the risk of cancer of the large intestine. This syndrome includes familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary cancer non-polyposis colorectal cancer, also known as Lynch syndrome.
  • A family history of colon cancer. You are more likely to develop colon cancer if you have a parent, sibling or child with the disease. If more than one family member diagnosed with colon cancer or rectal cancer, the risk is greater.
  • Low-fiber, high-fat diet. colon cancer and rectal cancer may be associated with a diet low in fiber and high in fat and calories. Research in this area has led to mixed results. Some studies have shown an increased risk of colon cancer in people who eat a diet high in red meat and processed meat.
  • A lifestyle that is not active. If you are not active, you are more likely to develop cancer of the colon. Get regular physical activity can reduce the risk of colon cancer.
  • Diabetes. People who have diabetes and insulin resistance may have an increased risk of colon cancer.
  • Obesity. People who are obese have the risk of cancer of the large intestine and increase the risk of death from colon cancer compared with people considered normal weight.
  • Smoking. People who smoke may have an increased risk of colon cancer.
  • Alcohol. heavy drinking can increase the risk of cancer of the large intestine.
  • radiation therapy for cancer. radiation therapy directed at the abdomen to treat cancer before can increase the risk of colon cancer.