Is dry, pellet-like stool a symptom of colon cancer?

Written by Wu Hai Wu
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 12, 2024
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Dry, granular stools are not necessarily symptoms of colon cancer, but patients with colon cancer may also experience dry, granular stools. Therefore, after exhibiting the above symptoms, patients need to promptly complete an electronic colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis of the disease. For example, if the symptoms are due to colon cancer, aggressive surgical treatment should be taken, followed by comprehensive treatment including radiotherapy and chemotherapy. If the symptoms are due to functional indigestion causing constipation, treatment should involve using medications to regulate the intestinal flora and relieve constipation.

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Is lower right abdominal pain colon cancer?

Pain in the lower right abdomen does not necessarily indicate colon cancer, as there are many possible causes of this pain. Common conditions include acute or chronic appendicitis, gynecological diseases such as pelvic inflammatory disease, torsion of a right ovarian cyst, ectopic pregnancy, and others. Additionally, urological issues like a stone in the lower part of the right ureter can cause severe pain in the lower right abdomen, which are again not indicative of colon cancer. Gastrointestinal diseases like Crohn's disease often lead to pain in the lower right abdomen. Of course, tumors in the ileocecal area or ascending colon can also cause such pain. Hence, while lower right abdominal pain is not necessarily due to colon cancer, in rare cases, it could be.

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What should not be eaten with transverse colon cancer?

Transverse colon cancer is a type of colon cancer. Generally speaking, in terms of diet, one should not eat spicy, stimulating, or hard-to-digest foods, such as overly spicy food, hot pot, smoked, grilled, or pickled foods. It is best to avoid these, as well as alcohol and tobacco. Because transverse colon cancer can lead to intestinal blockage as the tumor grows, consuming spicy, stimulating, or indigestible foods, or overeating and causing indigestion, can lead to intestinal obstruction. This is a relatively high risk, and typically, once transverse colon cancer is diagnosed, consideration should begin for primarily curative surgery.

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Can advanced colorectal cancer be cured?

Complete cure is often difficult to achieve in the middle and late stages of colorectal cancer. Of course, it is possible to control the progression of the lesion and then prolong survival. For middle and late-stage colorectal cancer, if the treatment is reasonable or effective, it is possible to survive for more than three years, five years, or even longer. Clinically, surviving more than five years without recurrence is considered a clinical cure. Of course, there is still a possibility of recurrence after five years, but the probability of recurrence will be much lower. If one can survive more than ten years, or even 20 years without recurrence, it is basically considered a cure, but regular check-ups are still necessary afterward, as it cannot be guaranteed that there will be no recurrence. For the middle and late stages of colorectal cancer, surgical treatment should be pursued whenever possible, followed by a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy after surgery.

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Can late-stage colon cancer be completely removed by surgery?

In clinical practice, for patients with mid-to-late-stage colon cancer, even after curative surgical resection, it is often difficult to completely remove the tumor. This is because by the mid-to-late stages, the colon cancer has typically started to invade surrounding tissues. Despite curative surgery, patients may still have subclinical lesions, which are typically hard to detect either under a microscope or with the naked eye. The presence of these subclinical lesions leads to a higher likelihood of recurrence and metastasis after curative surgery in mid-to-late-stage colon cancer patients. Therefore, to reduce the rates of recurrence and metastasis, it is common clinical practice to administer adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy after the curative surgical resection for patients with mid-to-late-stage colon cancer, aiming to decrease the risk of cancer recurrence and metastasis.

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How long can one live after colon cancer surgery?

If colon cancer can be treated surgically, generally, the outcomes might be quite good. It often applies to cancer in relatively early stages, with potentials to survive for over three years, five years, or even longer. Of course, there are cases of colon cancer that are discovered in later stages, where complete surgical removal is not possible, and only palliative stoma surgery can be performed. In such situations, the survival time might be within three to five years, but the exact life expectancy cannot be fully determined. Each individual's condition is different, and treatment must be adapted accordingly. Typically after surgery, treatments like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy might be used in combination to prolong survival.