“Sometimes blood spurts there!”
Recently, according to the Qianjiang Evening News, 56-year-old Aunt Zhao was diagnosed with rectal cancer because of blood in the stool.
About a year ago, Aunt Zhao accidentally touched her anus while she was taking a bath and felt a small, painless bump. At first, Aunt Zhao thought she had hemorrhoids and occasionally had blood in the stool.
Until the last two months, Aunt Zhao found that blood in her stool became more and more frequent. It even develops to spurt blood. In the end, the daughter discovered the abnormality of Aunt Zhao, and quickly took her to the hospital for examination.
After examination, it was found that Aunt Zhao internal hemorrhoids eroded and bleeds, but because the doctor found a mass in digital rectal examination, she further performed a colonoscopy, and the results of the colonoscopy made Aunt Zhao’s family Stunned, the colonoscopy revealed a grape-like mass on the rectum, which was also bleeding and eroded, and was diagnosed as rectal cancer by biopsy.
Fortunately, because of the timely detection, Aunt Zhao’s tumor on the rectum did not have distant metastasis, and it was located in the middle and upper rectum, so anus-preserving surgery could be performed without excision of the anus.
First, blood in the stool, what is the difference between colon cancer and hemorrhoids?
According to the statistics of WHO, new cases of colorectal cancer in my country in 2018 ranked third among all new tumors, with about 521,000 new cases case. About 80% of rectal cancers are clinically misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids. In fact, blood in the stool caused by colon cancer and hemorrhoids is very different.
1. Hemorrhoids
Bleeding caused by hemorrhoids usually occurs after defecation, and the color is bright red, dripping and jetting bleeding
strong>, there is a lot of bleeding, and there is no mucus, pus and blood in the stool.
2, bowel cancer
blood in the stool caused by bowel cancer is mostly dark red< /strong>, the amount is generally not large, the bleeding is usually mixed in the middle of the stool, and there will be pus and blood mucus in the middle of the stool.
In addition to blood in the stool, bowel cancer may also cause some other abnormal symptoms in the body. These four are very common.
Second, the symptoms of colorectal cancer are not only blood in the stool, those who are found early are lucky
1. Abdominal pain
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Some patients with colorectal cancer presented with abdominal pain as the first symptom, usually abdominal pain and discomfort, while some patients had typical incomplete intestinal obstruction abdominal pain strong>, abdominal pain is paroxysmal colic, accompanied by abdominal distension symptoms.
2. Abdominal mass
About 2~30% of patients can palpable abdominal mass at the time of consultation. It is one of the most common symptoms of right colon cancer. Under normal circumstances, the abdominal mass caused by right colon cancer is not the lesion itself, but the infection caused by the tumor.
3. Changes in bowel habits
Changes in bowel habits include time and frequency of bowel movements and changes in stool morphology, such as an increase in the number of defecations, but the amount of defecation each time is not much, or even no defecation, accompanied by an obvious feeling of incomplete stool; some patients will have thin stools with concave surfaces Some patients will have alternate symptoms of diarrhea and constipation.
4. Anemia
When the long-term chronic blood loss caused by the tumor in the intestine exceeds the compensatory function of the body’s hematopoiesis, it will cause the symptoms of anemia in the patient. The longer the disease progresses, the greater the chance of developing anemia.
All of the above symptoms may occur in patients with colorectal cancer. Seek medical attention in time after symptoms appear. In clinical practice, colonoscopy is the “gold standard” for colorectal cancer diagnosis.
Three, whether blood in the stool is colon cancer, colonoscopy is the true standard
The scientific name of colonoscopy——fibrous colonoscopy , is a flexible mirror with a diameter of about 1cm and a length of about 140cm. It enters all the intestines through the anus retrogradely and can clearly observe and record the specific conditions of the intestines under the direct vision of the lens, which is equivalent to giving The bowel underwent a video scan.
Polyps as small as a few millimeters in the intestinal tract, mucosal inflammation, etc. can be found in time, and pathological biopsy can also be performed. Colonoscopy is currently the only way to obtain a pathological diagnosis of colon cancer, and it is also the most detailed and accurate examination method for intestinal lesions.
It is worth reminding that bowel cancer may not have obvious abnormal symptoms in the early stage. Even if there are no physical symptoms, regular colonoscopy is recommended.
Four and six types of people, regardless of blood in stool, should be screened regularly
A study was published in The Lancet , The study lasted for nearly 20 years, and more than 170,000 people were followed up, of which about 40,000 people had undergone colonoscopy. Studies have found that examining the lower part of the large intestine can prevent 35% of cancers and save 41% of patients’ lives. In other words, a colonoscopy can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by one-third within 17 years, while saving countless lives.
Regular colonoscopy screening is recommended for these groups:
①There is a family history of gastrointestinal tumors;
②People with a history of intestinal inflammatory disease;
③Crowds with long-term chronic diarrhea, constipation and mucus bloody stool history;
④Chronic appendicitis, postoperative appendectomy, diabetes Population;
⑤People with a history of lower abdominal radiotherapy;
⑥People aged ≥50 years old p>
When colorectal cancer comes, the body will show some symptoms. Catching these signals in time may save your life. In life, we must pay more attention to observation, find abnormality and seek medical attention in time.
References:
[1] “Auntie Hangzhou encountered an unspeakable “embarrassment”: I didn’t expect it to be cancer…” Qian Jiang Evening News. 2022.4.5
[2] “The Lancet: A colonoscopy can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by 30% within 17 years”. Guangming Net. 2020.6.23
[3] “Popular Science | Is colonoscopy good for colon cancer screening? Is it better to do CT? Experts answer your questions~”. Peking University People’s Hospital. 2020.5.26
[4] Zhang Xingmao, Zhou Zhixiang. Small symptoms, big problems – conclusions that cannot be ignored Symptoms of rectal cancer[J].Anti-Cancer Window,2014(05):17-19