A 70-year-old woman's abdominal pain and anemia turned out to be colorectal cancer. Doctors urge gastrointestinal endoscopy to seize the golden period of treatment

A 75-year-old woman surnamed Lin has been suffering from chronic kidney disease for a long time. She recently returned to the clinic and reported that she had been suffering from abdominal pain for more than 10 days. The nephrologist took a blood test and found that the hemoglobin was low. After further arranging a colonoscopy, a large intestinal lesion was discovered, and the colorectal surgery team took over for surgical resection. The postoperative pathology report confirmed that it was colorectal adenocarcinoma. Fortunately, the resection was discovered in time, and she recovered well after the operation and continues to be followed up in the outpatient clinic.

Lin Wei, a nephrologist at Renai Chang Gung Memorial Union Hospital, said that a blood test was arranged for the patient after the outpatient visit, and the result was that the hemoglobin was 7.1 g/dL (normal value is about 12.0-16.0), which was significantly lower than the normal value. Considering that unexplained anemia may hide chronic bleeding or digestive tract tumors, a fecal occult blood test was immediately arranged and a gastrointestinal examination was recommended. As expected, large intestinal lesions were discovered.

Lu Jianzhang, a colorectal surgeon and director of the Department of Surgery, said that the early symptoms of colorectal cancer are not obvious. Some patients have atypical symptoms such as fatigue, anemia, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal discomfort or changes in bowel habits, which are easily ignored. Especially if elderly people have unexplained anemia, they should be more vigilant and undergo examinations to find out the underlying cause.

Lu Jianzhang pointed out that colorectal adenocarcinoma accounts for more than 90% of all colorectal cancer cases, and it mostly develops from abnormal proliferation of colorectal mucosal cells or polyps. Since it often takes several years for precancerous lesions to develop into cancer, if polyps can be detected and treated early, there is a chance to prevent cancer before it develops. Therefore, regular fecal occult blood tests and colonoscopy are of great significance for the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer.

Lin Junyou, a family medicine physician, said that many gastrointestinal cancers have almost no symptoms in the early stages. By the time obvious discomfort occurs, the disease has often progressed to a more serious stage. In particular, people over 50 years old, those with a family history of colorectal or gastric cancer, long-term smokers and drinkers, and those who experience symptoms such as unexplained anemia, abdominal pain, indigestion, loss of appetite, weight loss, or changes in bowel habits should actively receive evaluation from a professional physician and arrange gastroscopy and colonoscopy if necessary.

Lin Junyou reminded that health examinations are not only about detecting diseases, but also an important way to prevent diseases. Through regular gastrointestinal endoscopy and cancer screening, there is an opportunity to detect and treat diseases before they cause obvious symptoms, thereby reducing the impact of cancer on health and quality of life.