What are the symptoms of early rectal cancer

Rectal cancer is a problem for many people and may even end their lives. Many figures show that rectal cancer is on the rise and the harm of the disease is also great, so once you have rectal cancer, you must seek medical treatment in time. Only by knowing the symptoms of rectal cancer can we better diagnose and treat the disease. So what are the symptoms of rectal cancer? Let's take a look at the symptoms of rectal cancer summarized by experts.

Clinical manifestations of rectal cancer

(i) Changes in bowel habits, bloody stools, bloody stools, tenesmus, constipation, diarrhea, etc.

Most patients may have changes in bowel habits and blood in the stool in the early stage, with frequent bowel movements and a feeling of incomplete bowel movements. Frequent bowel movements are different from diarrhea because the former is just more frequent than normal, but the stool characteristics are normal or have little change; incomplete bowel movements are when you feel like having a bowel movement soon after a bowel movement, but no stool is discharged or only a small amount of stool is discharged with a small amount of mucus and blood in the stool; therefore, patients often do not take it seriously. Most of the blood in the stool of cancer patients is not much, and the color is bright red; it cannot be confused with stool, and is often mistaken for hemorrhoids by patients and doctors and ignored.

When the tumor penetrates the intestinal wall and infiltrates the prostate or bladder, male patients may experience frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, hematuria, urination disorder or continuous dripping. If the tumor penetrates the bladder, a rectovesical fistula may form, and gas and feces may escape from the urine. When the tumor in the anterior rectal wall of a woman penetrates the intestinal wall, it may infiltrate the posterior vaginal wall, causing an increase in leucorrhea; if it penetrates the posterior vaginal wall, a rectovaginal fistula may form, and feces and bloody secretions may appear in the vagina. After the tumor in the posterior rectal wall penetrates the intestinal wall, it may infiltrate the pelvic wall, sacrum and sacral plexus. Pain in the coccyx and a feeling of heaviness are all late manifestations, and patients are often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fatigue, emaciation, anemia, and weight loss.

(ii) The stool gradually becomes thinner, and in the late stage there is defecation obstruction, weight loss, and even cachexia.

When the cancer involves the anal canal or the area around the anus, in addition to blood in the stool, the patient often complains of anal pain and a protruding mass from the anus. Most patients have frequent bowel movements and a feeling of incomplete defecation. When the cancer invades the anal sphincter, fecal incontinence may occur. Since the lymphatic drainage of the anal canal can first go to the inguinal lymph nodes, when lymphatic metastasis occurs, enlarged and hard lymph nodes may appear in the inguinal area, and then fuse into a mass. In addition, the lymphatic drainage of the anal canal can also go along the middle rectal blood vessels to the lymph nodes beside the internal iliac and obturator vessels. When lymph node metastasis infiltrates the obturator nerve, the patient may experience intractable perineal pain that radiates to the inner thigh. These are all late manifestations of cancer.

3. Digital rectal examination

The necessary examination steps for diagnosing rectal cancer are that when patients with rectal cancer visit the doctor, a natural rectal digital examination may reveal a palpable hard, uneven mass; in the late stage, a narrow mass in the intestinal cavity may be palpable, and turbid pus and blood containing feces may be seen on the fixed finger cuff.

(IV) Rectoscopy

The size, shape and location of the tumor can be observed, and interventional tissue can be directly taken for pathological examination.

Warm reminder: The above is the summary of the symptoms of rectal cancer made by experts, hoping to help you deepen your understanding of the disease. Everyone must pay more attention to their daily life and eating habits, and pay more attention to physical exercise to prevent the invasion of diseases.