Colon cancer is currently the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. It can also be one of the most destructive if it were to get a proper foothold in the body. But getting diagnosed with colon cancer is not a death sentence: Instead, early diagnoses could be the key to bringing colon cancer under control. The symptoms and signs are easy to spot, and in most cases, they are just as easily treated – but only when the symptoms are spotted early.
You should consider yourself already at risk of developing colon cancer if you have any existing family history of cancer in your family, or if you have spent your life up until now plagued by digestive problems. Did you know that a polyp can take seventeen years to mutate itself? Here are a few more signs of colon cancer that warrant an appointment with your doctor.
1. Sudden Weight Loss
One of the core effects of cancer in the body is the fact that it is able to feed on the body like a parasite in order to make itself grow, spread and live as part of the host – in other words, the patient. This comes with a range of uncomfortable symptoms that include sudden and unexplained weight loss. This is especially true when it comes to colon cancer, which directly affects your body’s ability to digest food and process nutrients. Sudden weight loss should always be investigated.
It will almost always point towards another, larger health problem. There are many reasons why someone might ignore their sudden weight loss or chalk it up to something else, including if they are currently on a diet: Many people have accidentally ignored warning signs of cancer because they thought that their weight loss was completely normal and due to their diet instead.