Symptoms of rectal cancer

Oncological tumor of the rectum - malignant neoplasms, which are formed from the cellular material of the inner shell lining the inside of the rectum. In later stages, the tumor can reach a large size, grow into the wall, and also into the lumen of the intestine. This disease is very insidious, because the patient can not guess for years that he has a tumor. The fact is that oncological disease of the rectum may well not manifest itself for long.

If we consider the statistical data, then among all diseases of the oncological nature, approximately 5% of cases occurred in cancerous lesions of the rectum. And if we consider cases of malignant intestinal lesions, the oncology affecting the rectum is 35-40%.

Unfortunately, science can not yet say for certain exactly what causes a malignant tumor in the rectum. Among the unfavorable factors: malnutrition with the predominance of animal food and a small amount of fiber. Polyps and inflammatory diseases in the intestine. It is the polyps, most often, degenerate into cancerous tumors. No less dangerous is the infection of HPV, which can happen during anal sex.

Another risk factor is permanent constipation, as stool in the rectum causes bedsores and erosion. In the risk group are all patients suffering from intestinal diseases, including anal fissures.

The first signs of rectal cancer often do not cause alertness to the patient, as they are often mistaken for manifestations of hemorrhoids. Bleeding is generally the most common and common symptom of this disease. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between bleeding that occurs with damage to the hemorrhoids and those that can be regarded as symptoms of rectal cancer.

It should be noted that with hemorrhoids, the blood that appears is scarlet, with bleeding after defecation, that is, the feces will be covered with blood from above. With a malignant tumor, the blood is darker and appears in front of the stool.

Characteristic symptoms of colorectal cancer are violations of the intestine. The patient is tormented by constipation or diarrhea, and these conditions often alternate with each other. Several times a day a person experiences false urge to go to the toilet, when not a feces are allocated from the rectum, but a small amount of blood, and in the late stages - pus and mucus. Frequent swelling of the abdomen, difficulty with the escape of gases, a sense of having an extraneous object that is in the rectum, all of the above are also symptoms of rectal cancer. Sometimes there are pains of a cramping character in the intestine, occasionally vomiting.

Pains in patients occur if the tumor spreads beyond the rectum, capturing other tissues. Among other things, patients have a general deterioration of health, due to anemia from permanent blood loss.

However, all the symptoms of rectal cancer described above do not always indicate the presence of an oncologic neoplasm, the same signs appear in other bowel diseases, for example, proctitis.

In medicine, a division into the following stages of rectal cancer, i.e., the stages of the development of the disease:

• The 1st stage is characterized by the presence of a small tumor( up to 2 cm) that does not have metastases. At this stage, the tumor has clear boundaries.
• 2nd stage. The tumor grows up to 5 cm in size, but continues to be within the gut, without covering half of its lumen. Metastases are either absent or single lesions of the pararectal tissue are observed.
• 3rd stage. The tumor becomes more than 5 cm, there are metastases in the inguinal lymph nodes.
• 4th stage. By this time, the tumor grows large, sprouting beyond the rectum In this period, there are numerous metastases in all the lymph nodes.

For the treatment of oncological diseases of the rectum, there are various methods, including surgical intervention. Radiation therapy and chemotherapeutic effects can be considered effective treatment. The success of treatment directly depends on the stage of the disease, so at the first signs, which may indicate the development of a tumor in the rectum, you need to go to the doctors.