Are there symptoms that would indicate that someone may have colon cancer? are there symptoms that would indicate that someone may have colon cancer?

Thanks : Thanks for your question. Usually by the time someone experiences symptoms from colon cancer, the cancer is fairly large or has spread. This is because colon cancers typically start out as small polyps (a small "stalk" of tissue jutting out from the colon wall inside the colon) that grows larger and changes into a cancer. This doesn't really cause pain or block the passage of stool unless it has grown so large that the stool can't get around it. Symptoms someone might feel who has a colon cancer include abdominal pain, constipation, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, fever, night sweats, and fatigue. In the United States, screening for colon cancer is recommended for every adult over the age of 50, and sometimes earlier for patients with a family history of colon cancer or other risk factors. Screening early is important to try to detect and remove polyps before they have the chance to transform into a cancer. A colonoscopy (a scope passed into your anus and through the colon) is one way to screen for colon cancer / colon polyps. I hope this answers your question. Thanks!

Yes but not reliable: Abdominal pain, change in bowel habits, blood in stool or black stool off iron, weakness with anemia, weight loss are some. However, more than half of patients with early stage cancer do not have these symptoms. Late stage colon cancer may also have other symptoms based on the location of the metastatic disease.