Health
Colon Cancer Warning: Patients Reveal Subtle Bathroom Signs to Watch For

According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, over 106,500 adults will be diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024. The disease, which includes both colon and rectal cancers, is the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. Young adults, in particular, have seen an annual increase of one to two percent in colon cancer diagnoses.
Normally, colorectal cancer screening starts at age 45. However, younger patients are utilizing social media to spread awareness about less noticeable bathroom symptoms linked to colon cancer. These symptoms could suggest the need for a colonoscopy or a stool-based test, irrespective of a person’s age.
Michael Cecchini, MD, a medical oncologist at Yale Cancer Center, emphasized the importance of early detection in an interview with HuffPost. “It’s important to catch cancer early through screening or alerting to some of these symptoms so that we diagnose cancer at an earlier stage, where it’s more treatable and hopefully curable.”
Key symptoms that warrant a colorectal cancer screening are bloody stool, severe abdominal pain, irregular bowel movements, and unintentional weight loss. A significant change in stool appearance can also be an indicator.
A worrying sign of colon cancer is the manifestation of “pencil-thin stools.” This symptom was highlighted by TikToker Carolina Herrera, who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer at 28. Initially, she assumed it was irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or recurring hemorrhoids and procrastinated a doctor’s visit, hoping the symptoms would disappear by themselves. However, by the time of her screening, her cancer was advanced.
Herrera describes the pencil-thin stools symptom in relation to her diagnosis, “With pencil-thin stools, they say that it’s either stage three or four—it’s like your ending stages. The tumors are big, so it makes it really hard for the poop to pass through.”
Dr. Cecchini confirms that narrow stool is not a common sign of the disease, but when present, it is extremely concerning. Herrera’s TikTok resonated with others who then shared their own experiences with colon cancer and highlighted other overlooked symptoms like diarrhea and bloody stools.
Meanwhile, young patients have turned to Reddit to share personal experiences with colon cancer and raise awareness about symptoms that are often dismissed. One user shared, “No overly worrying symptoms – chronic diarrhea and one single instance of blood in stool. Doctor and I tried different things thinking IBS/IBD and she, just on a hunch, sent me for a colonoscopy. I waited 9 mos. to get in and they found my tumor.”
Dr. Cecchini stresses the importance of consulting your doctor if you experience abdominal pain and constipation. Though these could be symptoms of IBS or hemorrhoids, only a medical professional can rule out the possibility of cancer. He warns, “It’s very easy in younger individuals to think, ‘Oh, it’s just hemorrhoids,’ or something like that … and it may be, but also those things can coexist. People certainly have hemorrhoids and cancer, or it can be something else completely.”
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Bee Mena
June 30, 2024 at 11:32 pm
I’m thankful that I followed my signs. I was constipated a lot and I had a lot of blood in the toilet bowl so I asked for a colonoscopy and thank goodness I did because I ended up with a tumor which was cancerous and I’m now headed for chemo and radiation treatments I hopefully got it time they said. As long as