What Are The Warning Signs Of Small Intestine Cancer?

Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain is one of the first symptoms that commonly occur in individuals affected by cancer of the small intestine. This pain may occur when the digested food passing through the small intestine slows down. A growing malignant tumor can cause a partial blockage that slows the speed of food through the digestive tract. This slowing results in cramping pains in the abdomen as a result of the muscular movements of the intestine. The body triggers these muscular movements in an effort to stimulate the faster flow of food through the digestive tract. In some cases of small intestine cancer, the malignant tumor can cause complete intestinal obstruction that results in severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Other rare cases of small intestine cancer can result in the development of intestinal perforation or a hole in the wall of the small intestine. A perforation allows the contents of the small intestine to spill into the abdomen. This toxicity can result in sudden and severe abdominal pain. Frequent constipation from small intestine cancer can also result in bouts of abdominal pain.

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Dark Stools

Dark stools are a symptom of small intestine cancer that usually manifests when the disease has reached a substantial point in its progression. The dark coloring of the stool is caused by the presence of blood that has moved through the gastrointestinal tract and has been expelled with the stool. The same way that a malignant tumor in the small intestine can ulcerate and bleed out into the abdominal cavity, it can also cause bleeding back into the small intestine itself. Dark stools are characteristic of tumors that develop in the first section of the small intestine or the duodenum. As the blood moves through the digestive tract, it naturally coagulates or forms clots. The further up in the gastrointestinal tract the tumor is located, the darker the stool will be in color. Clotted blood that originates in the duodenum or stomach will have a tarry appearance, or it may look similar to coffee grounds. Stools that are darker than usual with dark red streaks can be indicative of a tumor in the middle section of the small intestine that has ulcerated or has caused a perforation of the intestinal wall.

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