Change in bowel habits can indicate serious conditions

Colorectal Cancer is one of the leading cancers claiming the lives of our citizens in Darlington and Chesterfield counties.

One of the traditional seven warning signs of cancer is a change in bowel habits. Once a person is past middle age, his or her bowel habits are quite well ingrained. They do not change significantly for any period of time unless there is a significant cause.

Colon cancer is one of the most common causes of a persistent change in bowel habits. There are about 165,000 new cases of colon cancer each year in the United States.

Any change in bowel habits that lasts three weeks or longer should be evaluated by your physician. The changes may include diarrhea, constipation, passing mucous or blood or even symptoms such as urgency.

If you develop any of these changes, your doctor will do a general exam, including blood tests that may indicate anemia. Anemia is a common finding in colon cancer because of the microscopic but constant blood loss from the tumor.

Because tumors usually lose small amounts of blood, one of the most useful tests is to check for this blood in the stool. If any trace is found, you will need a look at the whole colon with an instrument called a colonoscope. This allows your doctor to see the lining of the entire colon. If it is perfectly clear, significant polyps are unlikely to develop in the next few years.

If the card tests are negative for blood, your doctor may choose to do a flexible sigmoidoscopy, or “flex sig,“ which looks at the lower third of the colon. Both of these tests are performed at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center.

Other common causes for a change in bowel habits include inflammatory bowel disease, hormonal changes, infections, parasites and side effects from drugs. These problems would also benefit from appropriate evaluation and treatment, so do not hesitate to consult your doctor about bowel symptoms.

source: scnow