SYMPTOMS OF COLON CANCER IN WOMEN
Colon cancer often times referred to as colorectal cancer is a cancer of the large intestine and the rectum. The colon absorbs water and nutrients from foods, the rectum is at the end of the digestive tract and holds stool before passing through the anus and out of the body. Colon cancer is cancer that occurs quite frequently with development in 1 out of 20 people. Colon cancer is more common in women than in men. Colon cancer usually originated in the sigmoid colon just above the rectum and can grow throughout the tissues slowly over several years. Colon cancer usually starts as a polyp; a small benign growth before developing into a malignant growth. The majority of colon cancer diagnoses are of adenocarcinomas which are cancers of the cells lining the colon and rectum and usually involving the glands of the colon and rectum. The symptoms of colon cancer are usually not highly noticeable until the cancer has advanced or spread which makes regular colon cancer screening for early detection and treatment essential. Many of the symptoms of colon cancer in women can be misdiagnosed or confused with other symptoms such as bloating and fatigue being attributed to normal menstrual cycles. Additionally, blood in urine or stools may be attributed to menstruation or hemorrhoids, but is actually a sign of colon cancer that should not be ignored.
Symptoms that are distinctive to women and colon cancer include changes to the breast such as thickening or redness of the skin on and around your breast. While most women do self-checks for lumps changes in skin as this can be a sign of lymph node involvement in cancers that have progressed. Colon cancer is a fully treatable disease if discovered early and treatment initiated. Symptoms of colon cancer are categorized as either local or systemic. Local symptoms of colon cancer have a direct impact on your bowel habits and may cause changes such as more frequent or less frequent bowel movements constipation, or loose watery diarrhea, or an altering pattern of constipation and diarrhea combined. Visible changes in the color or appearance of stool such blood in stool that is either dark red or bright or abnormally thin stools. Abdominal discomfort such as bloating frequent gas and cramps that are unexplained are all signs of colon cancer or abdominal pain with tenderness. Colon cancer symptoms that impact the entire body are considered systemic and can include unintentional weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting, anemia a (a low iron or red blood cell count), and jaundice(yellowing of the skin and/or eyes).
Many myths publicize colon cancer as a disease of elderly men when in fact women are diagnosed almost 2 to 1 over men. Risk factors that make women more prone to developing colon cancer include those with previous cancers such as breast and ovarian cancers. Studies show breast cancer can reoccur in the colon so therefore women must seek regular breast and colon screening to reduce the risk of developing cancer.