Colon Cancer Symtoms: Do Not Ignore Them

An aunt whom I was very close to had colon cancer in 2005-2006. She passed away in July of 2006 just seven months after being diagnosed with colon cancer. I watched her suffer and heard her tell her story to a lot of people including me. She was an advocate of making sure everyone got screened for colon cancer. Even though this has been a few years ago, I can still remember what she went through.

Even though she had been having other symptoms she still put off getting checked out because she just put the blame on other things. (*See below for these other symptoms) She began noticing blood in her stool and also a change in her bowel habits. This was soon followed by extreme pain in her abdomen ever time she had a bowel movement. Right then and there she knew it was time to get checked out. She had just had a colonoscopy done in May of 2005, so she was not too concerned at first.

However, upon examination and another colonoscopy and other tests, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. The first thing that hit her was, of course, shock. She could not believe that in just a few months from the colonoscopy she developed this dreadful disease. Over the next few weeks she began to get very fatigued easily and lost around 15 pounds over a course of about 6 weeks.

Now my aunt was a candidate for the surgical option of treatment. They removed what they thought was all of the cancer with the removal of about (only) ¼ of her colon. She was then given a temporary colostomy after surgery allowing time for her to heal.

They soon removed to colostomy but she then started having other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, extreme pain, chills, night sweats, and fevers that she could not explain. Upon returning to her doctor, she was told that they had somehow missed getting all of the cancer and it looked as if it were spreading. Her only next option was chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy took a tremendous toil on her making her lose an extreme amount of weight, lose her hair, and making her so tired sometimes she could not get out of bed. Things from there started going down hill. She was soon given radiation treatment along with chemotherapy. However, she just could not hang on and lost her battle July 22, 2006 at the age of 53.

If she were here she would be telling everyone to get screened and to watch for any of the following symptoms: change in bowel habits, abdominal pain when having a bowel movement, extreme fatigue, rectal bleeding, and things such as gas, pain, or cramps in the abdomen. If you have unexplained chills and fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, difficulty swallowing, and/or dizziness, get to your doctor right away and do not put it off. My aunt had most of these symptoms for up to two months before things got to the point that she could not stand it anymore. So, just please be aware of these signs and symptoms of colon cancer.

Always be sure to get checked once ever year or as often as your doctor recommends. It could mean the difference between life and death.

Source:

Personal experience with a family member May 1, 2009

For more information www.mayoclinic.com May 1, 2009