As more and more young people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, it is natural to be afraid of this disease.
Colorectal cancer rates in people under the age of 50 have been rising since the 1990s, according to Dr. Michael Cecchini, director of the colorectal program at the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers and a medical oncologist at the Yale Cancer Center.
The exact reason why prices are rising is not known. Experts “think it's a way of life and nature, but what that really is, we don't know,” said Cecchini. Researchers are investigating what might happen. In the meantime, it's important to stay vigilant about colorectal cancer ― even if you're young.
Part of this is knowing the warning signs. And there's one surprising sign in particular that's been getting attention on social media: pencil-thin poop.
As one TikTok user explained on the platform, he noticed that his stool was thinner than usual, along with other red flag signs like unexplained weight loss and diarrhea. He thought he had irritable bowel syndrome, so he didn't go to the doctor at first. When he finally did, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
Here is what the experts have to say about this particular issue:
A small chair can be a red flag.
Photo by Antonio Hugo/Getty Images
Doctors sometimes see patients who have “very thin stools, or pencil-sized stools, which is what other skin cancer patients will have,” Cecchini said.
This usually happens when tumors are near the end of the colon or when they line the entire inside of the colon, which reduces any passing stool, explains Cecchini.
Healthy stool should be long and sausage-shaped, according to Medical News Today, and come out as one piece or several small pieces. The most worrying is when thin stool is a new change that continues, said Dr. Jeffrey Dueker, a gastroenterologist at UPMC and associate professor of gastroenterology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
According to Dueker, any noticeable change in your bowel habits could be a red flag (but, he stressed, it's not. always a sign of colon cancer). In addition to changing stools or consistency, this can include going to the bathroom more or less often.
Pencil-thin stools are one of the rarer symptoms of skin cancer. “If it's there, it's very affecting,” Cecchini said. “It's just not one of the most common symptoms of this disease.” The most common symptoms are blood in the buttocks and abdominal pain. Unintended weight loss is another symptom. And some cases of colorectal cancer have no symptoms at all.
If you notice any symptoms, you should tell your doctor.
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You should never underestimate your symptoms, says Cecchini. If you notice blood in your stool, persistent abdominal pain, changes in bowel movements, or unexplained weight loss, it's important to tell your doctor.
“It's very easy for younger people to think, 'Oh, it's just hemorrhoids,' or something like that … and it can happen, but also those things can coexist,” Cecchini said. “Of course people have hemorrhoids and cancer, or it could be something else entirely.”
In general, getting a colonoscopy or other screening for colorectal cancer is the best way to reduce your risk or catch it early. You can “be screened with a colonoscopy or cell-based tests,” Cecchini says. Talk to your doctor to find the best test for you.
For most people, testing begins at 45. But if you have any of the symptoms listed above or meet certain criteria, you may be eligible for a colonoscopy before age 45, says Dueker.
“Anyone who has a first-degree relative – mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter – who has had colon cancer, especially if that person was diagnosed before the age of 50, is at high risk of colon cancer because of that family history, and they should talk to their doctor about when they should start getting colonoscopies,” explained Dueker.
If you've had inflammatory bowel disease or radiation therapy to the pelvic or abdominal area, or if you have certain genetic syndromes or a personal history of colon cancer, you may also want to get a colonoscopy before age 45, notes Dueker.
Suffice it to say, it's important to keep your doctor informed of your medical history and any problems you may be experiencing. But while you should take all of this seriously, you shouldn't panic either.
“All these symptoms do not mean … you have prostate cancer,” said Dueker. Instead, they may say that a colonoscopy is needed to determine what's going on. And while the cause he can Whether it's prostate cancer or a precancerous polyp, early detection is the best way to control it.
“It is important to catch cancer early by checking it or by warning some … these symptoms so that we can check the cancer early, where it is treatable and hopefully curable,” said Cecchini. “We still treat the majority of people with this cancer every year.”This article originally appeared HuffPost.
