5 'silent' symptoms that show if you have colon cancer as cases surge in young people

A doctor has warned that, with cases of colon cancer rising in young people, there are five signs that you need to be looking out for.

It's an important thing to keep in mind - especially since, according to experts, the survival rates for colorectal cancer drop to 10% once the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

So, with all this in mind - what do you have to look out for?

What are the five signs of colon cancer you need to look out for?

The tricky part is that most of these symptoms are not something you would typically associate with colon cancer, so it's important to keep an eye on them if they develop.

According to Dr Jack Ogden, a GP at The Lagom Clinic in Bristol, these five symptoms are particularly subtle and, in his words, "overlooked" often by patients, since they don't cause a lot of pain.

The first sign, Dr Ogden says, is iron deficiency anemia, which can cause "unexplained fatigue, pale skin and shortness of breath."

While anemia is very common, it can come with other symptoms such as chest pain, heart palpitations and dizziness. This could, Dr Ogden explains, be caused by the bleeding of a tumor; which causes inflammation, and your body to not absorb iron properly.

The second sign to keep an eye on is constipation, diarrhea or narrow stools. This could point to a tumour obstructing your colon.

The third is a noticeable weight loss, especially when the patient hasn't been trying to lose weight. This could be due to a loss in appetite, and this sometimes occurs when the tumor has stopped the body absorbing needed nutrients.

Bleeding and abdominal pain is the fourth sign; Dr Ogden says that this could take the form of "persistent cramping" or if you feel full quickly after eating.

Finally, the fifth sign to keep a note of is if you have blood in your stool.

Black or dark red blood in your stool can show that you are bleeding much higher up than the fresh blood in your system, which could be caused by haemorrhoids or an anal fissure.

If you have blood in your stool, it's recommended that you seek out a stool test to be sure.

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