Anemia, night sweats, tenesmus, rectal prolapse and pain are vague, easily overlooked warning signs of bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer in the early stages has no obvious symptoms or only causes mild symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose. However, as with other cancers, early detection determines the chances of successfully treating bowel cancer.
Besides the common symptoms, there are also less common warning signs of bowel cancer that are easy to ignore, as follows:
Anemia
According to Bowel Cancer UK, if you feel very tired all the time (asthenia) but don’t know why, you should see your doctor to find out the cause. This fatigue can be caused by a lack of healthy red blood cells in the body, known as anemia.
Anemia occurs when there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body, which can lead to fatigue and muscle weakness, making the skin look pale.
Night sweats
Night sweats can be a symptom of certain cancers. According to Healthline, you should consider seeing a doctor if night sweats occur frequently and disrupt your sleep, especially if you have fever, unexplained weight loss, or other symptoms.
Tensing
Tensmus is a possible symptom of bowel cancer and one that can be particularly unpleasant.
Macmillan Cancer Support explains that tenesmus is the feeling of needing to go to the toilet but the bowels are empty. This condition may be associated with tension, pain, and cramps. Specifically, it may be due to cramps (spasms) in the muscles that irritate the intestines. But the charity explains that tenesmus can sometimes be a symptom of another problem such as constipation, infection or a non-cancerous tumor in the bowel.
Rectal prolapse
“Rectal prolapse occurs when the rectum is not supported sufficiently, resulting in the rectum protruding outside the anus,” according to Plymouth University Hospitals NHS Trust.
With rectal prolapse, you may notice a lump protruding from the anus and pain, constipation, or bleeding from the anus.
Painful
NHS Inform says “abdominal pain is often the result of something you’ve eaten” and most people with this symptom do not have bowel cancer. However, stomach and intestinal pain is still reported to occur in cases diagnosed with bowel cancer.