42-year-old man who needed the toilet more than usual had colon cancer - Insider

• A man, 42, who had colon crab that dispersed to his liver urged others with symptoms to get checked out. 
• Tom McKenna had diarrhea and noticed blood-stained mucus connected the toilet paper.
• Rates of radical younger than 50 diagnosed with colon and rectal crab person accrued since the 1980s.

A antheral successful his forties who was diagnosed with precocious colon crab aft helium had diarrhea has urged others to get checked out, amid rising rates of the illness among under-50s.

Tom McKenna, 42, archetypal noticed helium was going to the toilet much often and having diarrhea successful the summertime of 2020. 

"I noticed a horrible bloody mucus connected my stools and connected the toilet paper," helium told Insider successful an email.

McKenna, who lives successful the UK, besides felt lethargic, but enactment that down to moving excessively overmuch successful his recruitment occupation and not getting capable sleep. 

Generally speaking, helium "felt perfectly fine" but helium went to spot a doc astir the diarrhea, which acrophobic him. 

McKenna had colon crab that had dispersed to his liver

The doc organized an invasive camera test, called a colonoscopy, and McKenna was diagnosed with colon crab that day. Further tests revealed that it had dispersed to his liver, meaning helium had signifier 4 cancer.

The complaint of radical diagnosed with colon crab successful the US — and different high-income countries similar the UK — has decreased wide since the mid-1980s, partially due to the fact that radical aged older than 45 successful the US, oregon older than 50 successful the UK, are screened to observe crab earlier symptoms emerge.

However, the rate of radical younger than 50 diagnosed with colorectal crab successful high-income countries has steadily accrued implicit that period, present accounting for 10% of each caller diagnoses, according to research. Many factors are thought to lend to processing colon cancer, including a fare precocious successful reddish nutrient that whitethorn origin gut inflammation.

Thomas said that his lawsuit was "bad luck." 

McKenna had country that removed 60% of his liver 

The attraction a idiosyncratic has mostly depends connected however acold the crab has dispersed and tin see chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

McKenna had 2 surgeries that removed 60% of his liver successful September 2020 and February 2022, according to a Bowel Cancer UK press release, and different that took distant fractional of his colon and gallbladder — the organ stores bile that helps to digest fats — successful May 2021. 

McKenna told Insider connected Thursday that helium gets symptom astir the country scars, and helium avoids fatty foods and intoxicant due to the fact that they "pass done precise quickly." He's besides accrued the magnitude of fibre successful his diet.

As of December 2022, scans hadn't detected crab successful his assemblage for astir a year. He volition person different scan successful May and past each six months for the adjacent 5 years to cheque the crab hasn't returned, helium said.

Get cheque 'before it's excessively late'

The American Cancer Society estimates that 106,970 radical successful the US volition get diagnosed with colon cancer successful 2023.

The likelihood that a idiosyncratic volition unrecorded for much than 5 years aft a diagnosis of colon cancer compared to idiosyncratic without it typically depends connected however acold the crab has spread. 

"Colorectal crab tin beryllium precise inconspicuous for a agelong time, truthful I would promote anyone who has immoderate issues, oregon immoderate doubts, to question assurances earlier it is excessively late," McKenna said.

In summation to McKenna's symptoms, others include: a feeling the bowel isn't wholly bare aft pooping, value loss, and tummy pain. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone with those symptoms talk with a doctor.