Bowel cancer symptoms you should never mistake for IBS, according to a doctor
Bright red blood that keeps returning, dark, tarry stools and unintentional weight loss are all symptoms that should not be written off as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
That is the advice of Dr. Carmen Fong, Chief Medical Officer of Bummed, who also named severe constipation and being unable to pass gas as a late sign of bowel cancer.
Fong said bright red blood that 'doesn't stop after 2-4 days or is recurrent' is a red flag. "Most hemorrhoidal bleeding stops on its own in 3-4 days," she said.
"IBS is irritable bowel syndrome, which can come in constipation, diarrhea, or mixed type, and this is usually managed with diet, supplements, enzymes, and sometimes antispasmodic medication," Fong said.
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She described inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, as usually managed with biologic medications, diet, enzymes and potentially surgery.
"Cancer doesn't go away," Fong said, explaining that symptoms which fluctuate are usually not a sign of it. Alternating between diarrhea and constipation, or having abdominal pain on some days and not others, fits that pattern.
"You can have slow onset of constipation and start only passing liquid stools-change in bowel habits or change in stool caliber is also a potential sign of cancer," Fong said.
When should you see a doctor about bowel symptoms?
Her advice comes down to what is normal for each person.
"If you have something that is outside of your normal, seek medical attention sooner rather than later," she said.
On bright red blood, Fong said: "It can be recurrent but it should not be every single day for a month. Same with weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating, and change in stool habits and caliber."
"Cancer usually presents as a constellation of all these symptoms when you really start looking into it," she added.
When symptoms resemble IBS at first, Fong said, 'the only true method is colonoscopy, to see what's happening inside the bowel and find the tumor.'
"Other things that can help are stool studies (for occult blood), some blood tests, but the true diagnosis has to be colonoscopy," Fong added.
Polyps are abnormal growths in the colon or rectum that can turn into cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The agency, which uses the term colorectal cancer, says polyps and the disease do not always cause symptoms, so a person could have either without knowing it, which is why regular screening is important.
Signs to look out for, the CDC says, include a change in bowel habits, blood in or on the stool, and diarrhea, constipation or a feeling that the bowel does not empty fully.
Abdominal pain, aches or cramps that do not go away, weight loss with no known cause and low iron levels in the blood, known as anemia, are also listed.
The CDC says these symptoms may be caused by something other than cancer, and the only way to know the cause is to see a doctor.
Thomas Bamford