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A 31-year-old member asked:
Is intestinal obstruction an early symptom of colon cancer?
3 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in

Dr. Ritesh Rathoreanswered
Hematology and Oncology 31 years experience
No: Usually this is a sign that it is a large cancer that has grown over time and is ending up blocking the colon and causing obstruction.
6.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Anthony Backanswered
Medical Oncology 38 years experience
Sometimes: Obstruction can be a sign of colon cancer, but obstruction can also occur for non-cancer reasons. A common non-cancer reason is adhesions, which are caused usually by scar tissue from previous surgery.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Jeffrey Crespinanswered
Gastroenterology 29 years experience
No: This is more commonly a late symptom of colon cancer. It is almost impossible to obstruct for right sided colon cancer. Intestinal obstruction can presnet with a changes in bowel habits or constipation.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Anthony Back commented
Medical Oncology 38 years experience
This is a better answer than the one i wrote below!
Jul 16, 2012
Similar questions
A 34-year-old member asked:
Is intestinal obstruction a symptom of colon cancer?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

Dr. Martin Tysonanswered
Addiction Medicine 28 years experience
No: Hopefully it is more rare with good family practitioners making their patients have adequate health surveillance. Typically they are picked up with these screening endoscopies, blood in stool, weight loss etc. Occasionally you will find a stoic individual who ignores symptoms, or avoids doctors, and thus presents with obstruction instead.
6.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Mar 5, 2020
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