6 Unusual Signs Of Colon Cancer That A Lot Of People Accidentally Ignore For Years

4. Narrow stools

Doctors refer to this as a change in your stool caliber. If your stools are regularly much thinner than before, this may suggest a tumor in the colon, Inra said. Watch for other changes in your bowel habits, like constipation.

5. An unproductive urge to have a bowel movement

Tenesmus is the feeling that you have to empty your bowels, but when you try, no stool passes. This can be caused by a tumor that’s in your rectum, Inra noted.

6. Unexplained weight loss

This is always a reason to consider colon cancer or any cancer, in general. You seem to be eating enough, but the disease can change the way your body uses food and prevent you from being able to absorb all the nutrients, the National Cancer Institute noted.

When should you start getting screenings?
The American Cancer Society recommends starting screening when you turn 45, if you’re at average risk for developing colon cancer; earlier, if you have a family history of the disease or other risk factors. Screening has made a huge impact in reducing the number of colon cancer cases, Neugut said.

There are different methods available, so talk with your primary care doctor or a gastroenterologist about which one would work for you.

Colonoscopy is the most commonly used screening test, Neugut said. After Couric underwent the procedure live on TODAY in 2000, doctors called the subsequent rise in testing the “Couric Effect.”

You can also choose a flexible sigmoidoscopy, which is essentially a shortened version of a colonoscopy; or fecal testing, which can detect blood in your stool or DNA that may be shed by a colon tumor.

“There is no one best test. The best test is the one that a patient will do,” Inra noted.