Can colon cancer be detected through feces?

Technology is developing at a rapid pace, and our medical level has also been greatly improved and enhanced. Despite this, cancer still makes many people very entangled. Anyone who mentions cancer-related diseases will have a lot of fear in their hearts. For modern people, due to the increase in work pressure, irregular diet often causes overload of the body. So, can colon cancer be detected through feces?

Colon cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in my country, and the incidence rate is on the rise. Statistics show that colon cancer accounts for about 2/3 of rectal cancer. Most colon cancers develop from intestinal adenomas, which takes about 10 to 15 years. Therefore, early detection and early removal of polyps are of great significance in preventing the occurrence of rectal cancer.

Digital rectal examination

Relevant data show that lower rectal cancer is much more common in my country than in foreign countries, accounting for 77.5% of rectal cancers. Therefore, the vast majority of rectal cancers can be felt during rectal digital examination.

Barium enema X-ray

Generally, patients with lesions in the upper sigmoid colon or higher should undergo X-ray barium enema examination. Ordinary barium enema X-ray examinations are prone to miss small colorectal cancers. It is best to use air-barium double contrast, which can improve the accuracy of radiological diagnosis and show the location and range of the cancer.

Stool examination

In clinical practice, although the diagnosis of this disease through fecal occult blood test is not specific, the method is simple and easy to use. It can be used as a screening method or provide clues for early diagnosis.

Sigmoidoscopy

Through medical statistics, it was found that 77% of patients in my country had tumors in the rectum and sigmoid colon. The commonly used sigmoidoscope tube is 30 cm long and can directly detect tumors in the anal canal, rectum, and below the middle section of the sigmoid colon.

Symptoms: In the early stage, patients may not have any subjective symptoms, or only have blood in the stool, which is similar to the performance of hemorrhoids and is often ignored. Some patients may have a slightly increased frequency of bowel movements and loose stools. In the middle stage, patients have obvious changes in bowel habits, with up to more than ten bowel movements per day, mostly loose stools or mucus stools, and mucus blood stools or thick blood stools. There is a clear sense of tenesmus, and some patients may have fresh blood in the stool. There is dull pain or pain in the abdomen before and after each bowel movement. In the late stage, the above symptoms of patients are significantly aggravated, accompanied by anemia, weight loss, and obvious pain in the anus. Some patients may experience symptoms of low intestinal obstruction such as abdominal distension, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Some also have ascites, jaundice, frequent urination, and dysuria, and cachexia occurs in very late stage patients.

In the early stage of the disease, patients can feel small nodules or ulcers during rectal examination. They are not hard and can move with the mucosa with good mobility. In the middle stage, patients can feel cauliflower-like masses with raised edges and ulcers in the middle. They are brittle and easy to bleed, with a certain degree of mobility. In the late stage, patients can feel a hard mass like a stone, which often surrounds the rectum. The local intestinal tract is stiff and narrow. The mass is brittle and easy to bleed, and is fixed to the pelvis and cannot move.

Although colon cancer is the most common gastrointestinal malignant tumor, the symptoms are not easy to be discovered by patients in the early stage of the disease, which leads to the rapid deterioration of the disease and makes the treatment more difficult and complicated. Therefore, the diagnosis of colon cancer is very important for discovering the disease.

Can colon cancer be detected through feces? After the above introduction, I believe everyone has a certain understanding. In daily life, if our body shows relevant symptoms of colon cancer, we must go to the hospital for relevant examinations and treatment in time. We must not bury hidden dangers to our health because of carelessness.