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Bowel cancer: Recognizing the warning signs

Because bowel cancer does not cause obvious problems for a long time, it is only seldom detected at an early stage. But, especially for people with a higher risk, time can be gained if warning signals are recognized and taken seriously as early as possible. The earlier the cancer is discovered, the more successful treatment is likely to be.

The following warning signs are by no means only indications for bowel cancer. On the contrary, in most cases they are caused by something harmless or another illness, such as hemorrhoids or an intestinal inflammation.

The warning signs of bowel cancer are

blood in the stool or anal bleeding,
anal mucus secretion,
change in bowel movements over several weeks (for example constipation or diarrhea),
the feeling of not being able to empty your bowels properly,
pains or cramps in the abdomen (belly) or around the anus,
unintentional weight loss, and
anemia due to low iron levels in the blood, leading to tiredness and weakness.

However, bowel cancer is only rarely the cause of these problems, especially in people under 40 years old.