Cunning! Colon cancer can disguise itself as appendicitis

Recently, a patient came to the clinic with a color Doppler ultrasound report and asked: "Doctor, why do I have appendicitis even though my appendix has been removed?" I took the color Doppler ultrasound report and asked about the medical history. It turned out that this patient had undergone an "appendectomy" at a local hospital for "appendicitis" three years ago. Recently, he began to feel dull pain in his right lower abdomen, and it was getting worse. He suspected that the surgery was not done cleanly, so he went to the hospital to ask for an appendix color Doppler ultrasound. The color Doppler ultrasound report said: A 3cm string-like object was visible in the right lower abdomen, and appendicitis was suspected. I asked the patient in detail about the characteristics of the abdominal pain, accompanying symptoms, and bowel movements, and then carefully examined the abdomen. I told him that it might not be as simple as "appendicitis", and then wrote a prescription for him to check the colonoscopy. The results confirmed my worries - colon cancer in the guise of "appendicitis"!

The appendix and large intestine have a very close relationship!

First: Be vigilant

If you have the following symptoms, you should go to the hospital for a colorectal examination as soon as possible:

(1) The stool contains blood, pus, and a lot of mucus;

(2) Changes in bowel habits or irregularities, or deformed stools;

(3) Frequent abdominal pain or distension and bloating;

(4) Chronic diarrhea or frequent constipation or alternating diarrhea and constipation;

Second: Screening

Most colorectal cancers develop slowly, and early detection can still cure the disease surgically. Studies have shown that annual fecal occult blood screening can reduce the mortality rate of colorectal cancer by 16%.

1. Start colorectal cancer screening at age 50.

2. The screening method is fecal occult blood screening every year or every two years, and sigmoidoscopy screening every five years (or fiber colonoscopy screening every ten years).

3. Patients with positive fecal occult blood test must undergo colonoscopy.

4. If colonoscopy reveals adenoma, serrated adenoma, large hyperplastic polyp (larger than 1 cm), mixed polyp and hyperplastic polyp located in the proximal colon, they must be surgically removed.