A doctor revealed some telltale symptoms of bowel cancer to spot (Image: Getty)
An A&E doctor has issued an urgent warning telling people to see a doctor if they spot any of three signs when they go to the toilet. According to the expert these symptoms could be caused by bowel cancer, one of the most deadly types of the disease in the UK.
Figures from show that bowel cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer in the UK, with 44,100 new cases diagnosed each year. And concerningly it is the second most deadly, leading to 16,800 deaths each year.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of any of the potential warning signs of the disease.
With this in mind, GP and A&E doctor Suraj Kukadia, who is best known online as , took to social media platform to explain more.
He shared three symptoms of bowel cancer that can appear on the toilet:
- Pain when opening your bowels
- Blood in the toilet water
- Blood in your poo.
Why you have blood in your poop
However, he clarified that these signs don’t automatically point to bowel cancer as there can be many causes. Speaking to his more than five million followers he said: “When I poop it really hurts and in the toilet water is blood and there’s blood in the poo.
“What do I do? There are lots of reasons that someone can have blood in their poop. It could be piles or haemorrhoids.
“It could be a small tear, so a fissure down below. It could be inflammatory bowel disease.
“It could even be something more sinister, like a rectal cancer or a colorectal cancer, or bowel cancer.” If you experience any of these symptoms you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Dr Sooj continued: “Now you need to go and see a doctor because we can take a history, we can examine you, we can rule in or rule out some of the potential causes and then we can treat you.” In some cases it could be easily treatable.
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“If it is caused by haemorrhoids or piles or a small tear, then the most common cause for those is usually dehydration and constipation. So we want to increase fibre, increase water, reduce straining, reduce caffeine and alcohol, and things that can dehydrate you.
“If it’s caused by inflammatory bowel disease, which is more or less likely depending on your age and other risk factors, there are things we can do. There are treatments, there are investigations.”
He added: “You basically need to see a doctor and if it’s something like cancer, come on, you need to be seen. Go and see a doctor.”
The NHS lists symptoms of bowel cancer as:
- Changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you
- Needing to poo more or less often than usual for you
- Blood in your poo, which may look red or black
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Often feeling like you need to poo, even if you’ve just been to the toilet
- Tummy pain
- A lump in your tummy
- Bloating
- Losing weight without trying
- Feeling very tired for no reason.
Bowel cancer can also cause anaemia (when you have fewer red blood cells than usual), which can make you feel very tired, short of breath and have headaches. The health body advises seeing your GP if you have any symptoms of bowel cancer for three weeks or more.