Cancer symptoms: Three signs your poo could be signalling the deadly disease

Cancer causes cells in the body to grow and reproduce uncontrollably, leading to the destruction of surrounding healthy tissue and organs. More than one in three people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, according to the NHS, with breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer the most common types of cancer. While each cancer has its own set of symptoms, there are also some more general ones to note. About one out of every 10 people with cancer experienced diarrhoea, according to Cancer Research UK.

Diarrhoea usually means having more than three unformed stools in a 24 hour period, and there are three signs to look out for according to the cancer charity.

These are:

An increase in the number of bowel movements you have each day
An increase in the amount (volume) of poo (stools or faeces) you have in a day
A change in the way your poo looks (it goes from solid to soft or watery)

Other symptoms you may notice are:

Cramping pains in your tummy (abdomen)
Feeling sick
Needing to get to the toilet urgently
A bloated feeling in the tummy

Cancer can also affect the way you urinate – mainly prostate cancer.

Passing urine more often

Also referred to as frequent urination, prostate cancer may give you the urge to need to empty your bladder more than normal during the day.

Getting up in the night

Prostate cancer, as it grows, can put pressure on the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis, known as the urethra. So you may also feel the need to get up a few times in the night to empty your bladder.

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Difficulty passing urine

It may be harder to empty your bladder than normal. This is called urinary hesitancy.

It might be difficult to start emptying your bladder or the flow might be weaker, you might be straining to pass urine, or it might stop and start when you do go.”