Hi. I am 36, female and am worried I may have colorectal cancer.Reasons.History of it in my family and I have been having bloating in abdomen for a few years now and a steadily increasing foulness in the smell from my flatulence.My stool smells pungent also.I have belly pains and cramping and a generalized full feeling and excessive gas in my lower and middle belly areas.I get fatigued easily and have seen blood in my stool on more than one occasion.Have history of GI bleed and have burning in stomach constantly.
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Your foul smelling stools might be due to change in bacterial colonization in the large bowel. Cancer symptoms of bowel includes sudden change in bowel habits like constipation or diarrhea. Some people also experience bleeding in stools. Unexplained loss of weight can also be seen in bowel cancer. Since you have found blood in stools more than once then you should get a detailed cancer screening examination done. I suggest you get your stools tested for occult blood till the time you have to wait to see your surgeon. If there is occult blood in stools and as you have strong family history therefore you should get a colonoscopy done. It will locate any abnormal areas of polyps which are precursors to colon cancer. Please do not worry.