Most people find colon cancer when they do colonoscopy for the first time. Reminder: There are 5 kinds of discomfort, check as soon as possible

Mr. Chen, in his early 40s, is a senior executive of a small company. He can be regarded as young and promising.

But since the end of last year, Mr. Chen started to have blood in the stool. At first, he thought it was hemorrhoids. He thought hemorrhoids were very common, and maybe it would heal in a few days, so he didn't care too much.

A week later, I went to the hospital for a check-up due to unbearable abdominal pain. The doctor suggested a further colonoscopy, but because I was busy with work and a little bit resistant to colonoscopy, I declined.

It was like this until last month. Mr. Chen had more and more blood in the stool, accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite and other discomforts , which obviously affected his life and work, so he had to go to the hospital for a colonoscopy. . Who knows, this check is in advanced rectal cancer.

In China, less than 15% of people over the age of 50 receive colonoscopy , and this is one of the main factors that cause many people to be diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer.

1. Why are most people reluctant to do colonoscopy?

The incidence of colorectal cancer has been soaring in recent years. According to the latest national cancer statistics released by the National Cancer Center in 2022, there are more than 400,000 new cases of colorectal cancer in China every year, and most of them are in the middle and late stages when they are discovered. .

The main reason for this situation is that many people are reluctant to do colonoscopy because of the low rate of colonoscopy.

Most people may not know that colon cancer is actually one of the easiest cancers to prevent, because it often takes 5-10 years to develop from precancerous lesions to colon cancer. During this period, as long as we can be vigilant and screen regularly early detection of colorectal cancer.

Zhang Kai, deputy director of the Cancer Prevention and Physical Examination Center of the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, believes that among the common cancers, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer are the easiest to reduce morbidity and mortality through screening. For early-stage colorectal cancer, after standardized treatment, the 5-year survival rate of stage 1 and stage 2 patients is over 90%.

Based on this, both WHO and the Anti-Cancer Alliance believe that bowel cancer is one of the tumors that is very suitable for early screening.

In addition to the early detection of bowel cancer abnormalities, a Stanford University team study involving more than 6 million people directly pointed out that if colonoscopy can be performed early (after the age of 45), it is comparable to those who do not receive the examination. Reduce the risk of bowel cancer by 50% .

But in real life, very few people are willing to accept colonoscopy. Why? There are 2 main reasons:

One is to think that bowel cancer is still far away from you, and there is no need to do it, and bowel cancer can "hide" itself very much. In the early stage, there are often no "traces" , so it is easy to be ignored;

Second, I feel that traditional colonoscopy is more painful, not only the process is cumbersome (it needs to take laxatives for bowel preparation after 1-2 days of fasting), and there is obvious discomfort, which leads to poor acceptance by the public .

In short, colonoscopy is of great significance in the prevention and treatment of bowel cancer. Patients should do it or have to do it, otherwise it is likely to delay the best time for the diagnosis and treatment of bowel cancer.

2. There are 5 kinds of symptoms in the body, it is time to check

Before bowel cancer occurs, the body will send out some "help" signals to some extent.

1. Frequent blood in stool

Don't take it for granted that it is hemorrhoids as soon as blood in the stool appears. Colon cancer can also cause blood in the stool, so pay attention to the distinction. Generally speaking, hemorrhoids have blood in the stool, which is bright red in color and sticks to the surface of the stool and does not mix with the stool.

In colorectal cancer, blood in the stool is mostly dark, dark red and jam-colored , and blood can be mixed with feces.

2. Abdominal mass

If you can feel a hard mass in the right middle abdomen, accompanied by abdominal pain, anemia and other discomfort, you should be alert to colorectal cancer.

3. Abdominal pain

It is also a typical manifestation of colorectal cancer, especially in patients with right colon cancer, which is mostly dull pain. If complicated by intestinal obstruction, it can be manifested as abdominal cramps.

4. Changes in bowel habits

If the number of defecation increases inexplicably, from "1 stool per day" to "3 to 4 stools per day" or "1 stool per 3-4 days"; the shape of the stool changes from soft and formed to flat and grooved ; Diarrhea and constipation alternately...Also be wary of colon cancer.

5. Anemia, fatigue

As the tumor grows, patients may develop anemia of varying degrees, accompanied by fatigue, fatigue and other discomforts.

If you have one or more of the above symptoms, you should be highly alert to bowel cancer and seek medical attention in time for colonoscopy and other tests to confirm the diagnosis.

3. How long can a colonoscopy last? High-risk groups beware

Unlike some that require regular inspections every year, in fact, as long as you can rest assured and do a colonoscopy once, you can rest assured for several years.

Academician Li Zhaoshen once said: "The colonoscopy is of great significance to the prevention of colon cancer. It must be done after the age of 45. Don't be afraid of trouble. Once colonoscopy is done, you can prevent you from being harassed by colon cancer for 5-10 years ."

In view of the high incidence of bowel cancer in the middle-aged and elderly, it is recommended that healthy people aged 40 to 74 should have a colonoscopy screening even if there is no obvious discomfort or abnormality ; if they belong to high-risk groups, they should be screened ahead of time.

People at high risk for bowel cancer include:

① First-degree relatives (parents, children, and siblings) have a history of colorectal cancer;

②The patient has a history of any kind of cancer;

③ The patient has a history of intestinal polyps before;

④ Patients with ≥ 2 of the following conditions at the same time: mucous and bloody stool, chronic constipation (accumulated time of diarrhea in 2 years exceeds 3 months), chronic diarrhea (accumulated time of constipation in 2 years exceeds 2 months), history of chronic biliary tract disease or cholecystectomy history of chronic appendicitis or appendectomy.

If you belong to the above groups, colonoscopy screening is recommended as soon as possible.

Colonoscopy is an effective means of screening and diagnosing colon cancer, and the incidence of colon cancer has been increasing year by year in recent years, so it is necessary for everyone to pay attention, especially for high-risk groups of colon cancer. mirror screening.

Don't blindly refuse to do colonoscopy because of the fear of colonoscopy, it is easy to delay the best time for the diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer, and it will be too late to regret it.

References:

[1] "Intestinal cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage? Physical examination of stool is really important...". Life Times. 2022-01-26

[2] "Ninety percent of early cancers can be cured, and late cancers are nine out of ten! Why don't you want to be screened for bowel cancer? 》.Health Times. 2017-10-15

[3] "No kidding! Once these symptoms appear, it is possible that colorectal cancer has already arrived, and it is not too late to deal with it". Digestive Liver Disease Channel of the Medical Community. 2022-02-13

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