The first symptoms to look out for

He colon cancer It has become the most common tumor type in the Spanish population, second only to sex-specific cancers.

In 2023, there will be 40,203 new cases of colorectal cancer.

Of these, 24,385 cases were diagnosed in men, with prostate cancer being the only one to outnumber it, and in women, 15,818 cases were diagnosed, second only to breast cancer.

According to the Spanish Digestive Foundation, the good news is that the level If detected early, cure rates can reach 90%.. It is important to note that if caught early, the chances of survival can increase up to six times, so it is important to know the gastrointestinal symptoms that may indicate the presence of this type of cancer.

Despite their high prevalence, these symptoms usually go unnoticed in Spanish society, in contrast to awareness of other types of cancer.

This phenomenon is also observed in other developed countries, where colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of disease-related mortality.

In addition, oncologists expressed their opinions. concern about increasing cases in younger patients. Oncologist Wakkas Tai, a colorectal cancer specialist in Brooklyn, New York, noted that about 150,000 cases of colorectal tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States. “It’s important that you see your GP regularly and have colonoscopies,” he advises. “It’s a simple procedure that can save lives.” He also shares five symptoms that we should pay attention to in our daily lives:

1) Thin chair: If the stool is “thin as a brush,” according to Tai, it could be “alarming symptom”. This may indicate the presence of a tumor in or near the rectum, which may interfere with intestinal transit.

2) blood in stool: “That’s never a good sign,” Ty says. “It can’t just be due to hemorrhoids, you need to see a doctor.” There are various causes that can cause colorectal bleeding, from fissures or polyps to inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease, all of which require immediate medical attention.

3) Anemia: Iron deficiency in the blood can have many causes, but this symptom is present in 30-75% of colorectal cancer cases, warns an expert. “This is one of the first indicators that we pay attention to when diagnosing. A healthy man should not have anemia, and neither should a woman, unless she has heavy menstruation“, he explains.

4) Severe constipation and diarrhea: Although both conditions can be caused by other medical conditions or lifestyle changes, alternating constipation and diarrhea may be a sign intestinal disorder. Therefore, according to the expert, it is extremely important to undergo a colonoscopy to exclude the presence of a tumor.

5) Weight loss, fever and night sweats.: These are non-specific symptoms, but when they occur together with the other symptoms mentioned, they may indicate the presence of a tumor. “We call them ‘B symptoms,’” Ty says. “If you eat but still lose weight, if you have periodic fevers during the day or wake up sweating at night, these are signs clear signs of possible cancer“.