Think You’re Too Young for Colon Cancer? Here’s What to Watch For

Even if you’re under 50, colon cancer needs to be part of your healthcare awareness and preparation. It is no longer a disease that just occurs in old age, and your lifestyle choices may be putting you at risk.

Today, 1 in 5 diagnoses of colorectal cancer occurs in someone under the age of 55 — and it has become a leading cause of cancer-related death in young people.

What Are the Early Warning Signs of Colon Cancer?

Bleeding in Your Rectum. The primary red flag that should not be ignored is bleeding from your rectum. In the past, bleeding often was attributed to hemorrhoids — even without an exam by a physician. Although hemorrhoids likely still are the primary reason for rectal bleeding in patients under 40, it should not be attributed to that unless a colonoscopy has ruled out other causes of bleeding. Otherwise, you may experience a significant delay in diagnosis if it is colon cancer.

Change in Bowel Habits. It is natural to have some temporary changes that may last a few days, but if your changes last more than seven days, they should be evaluated. This means new constipation, diarrhea that is persistent or a change in the caliber or color of your stool. It is especially important if your stool appears to be darker or black in color or becomes thin and smaller; these changes should be evaluated with a colonoscopy.

Why Is a Colonoscopy the Best Diagnostic Tool?

When it comes to evaluating your symptoms, a full colonoscopy is the most effective tool. It is the only method that can determine if significant changes are benign or cancer and can detect polyps that may turn into cancer.

Don’t let the fear of the prep for a colonoscopy keep you from getting the care you need. There now are multiple options, including pills and smaller volume drinks, aside from the initial use of a large amount of a poor-tasting fluid.

Many patients think that a CT scan (which examines the abdomen as a type of X-ray) will identify cancers, but it typically will only detect later-stage cancers. A CT scan may be one of the tests used during a workup, but it should not replace a full colonoscopy.

Advocate for Yourself with Your Doctor

If a healthcare provider dismisses your concerns, it is important to advocate for yourself.

Be persistent. If they don’t want to proceed with any workup, continue to ask for an explanation. Bring up the increased risk in young people. If possible, ask for evaluation by a specialist, either a colorectal surgeon (a specialist surgeon who can do a colonoscopy as well as treat hemorrhoids and specializes in colorectal cancer) or a gastroenterologist (GI specialist) who can evaluate if a colonoscopy is warranted.

If you are not happy with the answers you are given, it is never wrong to seek a second opinion.   No one knows your body as well as you do, so if something seems wrong, continue to seek answers.

How You Can Lower Your Risk of Colon Cancer

You can make lifestyle choices that will help lower your risk of getting colon cancer. These include:

• Get established with a doctor you trust. It’s never too early to start seeing a doctor regularly so that they can know what your normal is.
• Eat healthy. Mediterranean diets, which are high in fish, phenols and fiber, have been found to be among the healthiest.
• Avoid processed foods, especially ultra-processed foods found in the center aisles of your grocery store.
• Exercise regularly. Along with fiber, it helps improve bowel function, which reduces the amount of time any toxins stay in the body.
• Avoid red meats, tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption.
• Get your screening done with a colonoscopy.

When Should You Get Screened for Colon Cancer?

If you have an average risk for colon cancer, you should begin screening at age 45. Anyone with a high risk should start at 40. If you have a relative with colon cancer, you should start at either age 40 or 10 years earlier than their diagnosis, whichever is younger.

Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for screening. If you receive a positive result with another method, you will be referred to have a colonoscopy. It’s the only tool that can detect and treat precancerous polyps.

If getting a colonoscopy is too difficult, then some screening is better than none. However, the other options, such as stool studies and recently developed blood tests, have high false negative rates and, therefore, require them to be done more frequently. 

Colorectal cancer is highly treatable if it is caught early, so it is important to be aware of symptoms and complete screenings on time. 

This content is not AI generated.