A leading doctor has warned that thousands of adults could be mistaking little-known signs of the disease for common health issues.
The disturbing rise of colorectal cancer—also known as colon or bowel cancer—in under 50s has baffled doctors around the globe.
The disease—which also claimed the life of Dame Deborah James at the age of 40—has surged by 50 per cent this age-group over the past three decades.
Experts have long warned that changes in bowel movements such as consistent and new diarrhoea and blood in the stool, are tell-tale signs of the cancer.
But other ‘subtle’ warning signs are ‘often overlooked’, Dr Jack Ogden a GP at The Lagom Clinic in Bristol told the Daily Mail.
If spotted early, around nine in ten patients survive at least five years—but once the cancer has spread, survival drops to just 10 per cent.
Now, Dr Ogden has urged Britons to be vigilant for five specific ‘silent’ and pain free signs.
‘Awareness of these silent signs can save lives. Paying attention to subtle changes and acting promptly is the best defence against colon cancer,’ he said.
‘Subtle’ warning signs of bowel cancer are ‘often overlooked’, Dr Jack Ogden (pictured), a GP at The Lagom Clinic in Bristol, told the Daily Mail
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
The first, commonly overlooked sign is iron deficiency anemia, which can present as ‘unexplained fatigue, pale skin or shortness of breath’, Dr Ogden said.
Anemia is a condition when the body doesn’t have enough red blood cells to pump oxygen around the body.
It can also cause symptoms like chest pain, heart palpitations, headaches and dizziness.
This is because tumours can bleed, causing iron loss and cause inflammation that produces a protein which interferes with iron absorption.
Equally, constipation, diarrhoea, or suddenly noticing narrower stools with no clear cause, is another key easy-to-dismiss subtle bowel cancer sign, he said.
Pencil-thin stools can be an indicator that a tumour is obstructing the colon causing it to squeeze stool into a thinner shape, Dr Ogden added.
Meanwhile, losing weight without changing diet or exercising more is the third pain free sign, that may indicate the condition.
Worryingly, he said it doesn’t have to be sudden—it can also be subtle or gradual.
Often this weight loss can be caused by increased metabolic demand, loss of appetite and tumours preventing the absorption of nutrients.
Bloating and abdominal discomfort, equally, is the fourth ‘subtle’ sign of the cancer.
This may present itself as ‘persistent cramping’ or feel full quickly after eating, Dr Ogden said.
The fifth sign, he warned, was blood in the stool—which isn’t always necessarily as obvious as it may seem.
The blood can be dark or hidden and only detectable via stool tests, Dr Ogden said.
If stools are dark red or black it can be a sign bleeding is taking place higher up in the bowel due to cancer.
In contrast, bright red blood is most commonly caused by haemorrhoids, also known as piles.
According to the NHS, anyone experiencing these symptoms for three weeks or more is advised to speak to their GP.
James Van Der Beek, who lives in Texas , revealed in November that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in August 2023, aged just 46
Bowel cancer symptoms can also be caused by other conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, but it’s important to get checked so the disease can be spotted as early as possible.
Although the vast majority of bowel cancer diagnoses affect those aged over 50, rates in older age-groups has either declined or held stable while diagnoses in younger adults have risen by 50 per cent over the last 30 years.
Cancer Research UK estimates that over half (54 per cent) of bowel cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
Doctors have suggested obesity, antibiotic over-use, mobile phone radiation and even invisible particles of plastic in drinking water are potential triggers.
A recent global review found rates of colorectal cancer—also known as bowel cancer —in under-50s are climbing in 27 out of 50 countries.
England has one of the steepest increases, with cases in younger adults rising by an average of 3.6 per cent a year, while in the US, the rate is going up by around two per cent annually.
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