What are the characteristics of constipation caused by colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract. The incidence of this disease is higher in North America and Western Europe. According to surveys and analyses, colorectal cancer has a distinct geographical distribution, and family hereditary factors have also been reported. Because the tumor grows slowly, it takes a long time before it produces symptoms and signs, so it is generally not easy to attract attention in the early stages.

Constipation is often an early symptom of colorectal cancer. Cancerous tissue forms tumors in the rectum, which can cause rectal stenosis, or the lesions invade the rectal mucosa, causing damage to the defecation reflex, making it difficult to excrete feces and causing constipation.

Constipation caused by colorectal cancer often has the following characteristics:

① Blood in stool. Constipation is often accompanied by blood on the surface of the stool, which is mostly fresh blood and the amount of blood is small.

② Rectal irritation symptoms. Sometimes constipation patients also have rectal irritation symptoms such as frequent bowel movements, small stool volume, frequent urge to defecate, incomplete defecation, and anal prolapse.

③ Deformed stool: Constipation may cause the stool to become thinner or have grooves on one side. In this case, you should pay attention to the possibility of space-occupying lesions in the rectum.

④ Systemic symptoms. In the late stage of rectal cancer, constipation symptoms are very prominent, with small amounts of stool and blood in the stool. It is often difficult to excrete feces even after squatting in the toilet for dozens of minutes. It is often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as anemia, malnutrition, weight loss, and cachexia.