A leading oncologist has revealed a symptom of bowel cancer that is ‘under discussed’ and can easily fly under the radar.
Feeling like your bowels haven’t emptied fully after a bowel movement is a massive warning sign that you might have a tumour, according to Dr Yousuf Zafar, a US-based gastrointestinal oncologist.
In a recent TikTok video, he explained: ‘A symptom that doesn’t get talked about enough is feeling like your bowels don’t completely empty after you have a bowel movement.’
It is thought that this happens because a tumour is present that’s narrowing or blocking the space stool has to pass through.
The tumour is typically residing in the rectum, the final section of the large intestine, or the lower part of the colon, the longest part of the large intestine.
The large intestine is the organ which the body uses to turn the food that we eat into stool – and if it is obstructed it can also cause a variety of uncomfortable symptoms.
These include pain, nausea and vomiting large amounts of undigested food or bowel fluid according to the charity Cancer Research UK.
Dr Zafar’s advice comes amid a worrying rise in the number of young people being diagnosed with the devastating disease.
Dame Deborah James, nicknamed the ‘bowel babe’ raised more than £11.3mn for Cancer Research and is credited for increasing awareness of the disease, which killed her in 2022 aged 40
It is estimated that over 42,000 Britons are diagnosed with bowel cancer, also known as colon cancer, with 17,400 people dying from the disease every year.
One of those who tragically lost their life was Dame Deborah James, 40, who was nicknamed the ‘bowel babe’ for raising awareness of the cancer.
Worryingly, figures show cases of the illness have doubled her age group over the past three decades.
In the recent video, the oncologist shared other early warning signs of the illness, explaining some can be painless.
The first other early warning sign, which many will be aware of, is ‘blood in your stool or rectal bleeding’, he said.
‘I cannot tell you how many patients I’ve had who had noticed blood in their stool over the course of months or even a year or more before seeing me,’ he warned.
Next, he said to look out for, ‘abdominal pain or cramping’ which ‘doesn’t resolve’ itself.
The third warning sign, he said is ‘unexplained weight loss’ which is a ‘really important symptom’.
‘If you’re losing weight but it’s not because you’re dieting or exercising, pay attention to that,’ he said.
The last sign he said to know is having ‘anaemia’, also known as low iron levels, which causes can cause fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath.
He said: ‘If you’re anaemic and there is no other good reason for it you should talk to your doctor about whether you should get checked for colon cancer.
In a final message he said: ‘So remember, there may be no symptoms at all. This is why age-appropriate screening is really important.
‘But if you have any of these symptoms that I’ve talked about, please talk to your doctor.’
Other symptoms of bowel cancer include needing to pass stool more or less often and changes in the stool, suchh as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is unusual to you, says the NHS.
It comes days after scientists discovered a breakthrough that could prompt hopes for new life-saving treatment.
Experts uncovered a ‘big bang’ moment which determines how bowel cancer will grow in landmark research.
The crucial moment, they found, is when bowel cancer cells hide themselves from the immune system in a process called immune escape.
This enables the cells to interfere with genes that normally allow the cancer to be detected by the body’s first line of defence, the immune system.
After the point of immune escape, the experts observed that very few changes occur in how the cancer presents itself, making it more difficult to treat.
The researchers hope this discovery will help doctors identify patients who are more likely to respond to immunotherapy – a treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer – including vaccines for the disease.