If it were not for my family, I would have totally broken down. Then I realized every thing that was important to me was in that room, my husband, and my two sons. A sort of calm settled over me, and I knew that whatever happened, I would never be abandoned. Other symptoms depend on where in the colon or rectum the cancer is located. Colorectal cancer involving the right side of the colon can cause vague abdominal aching, weight loss, and a mass on the right side of the abdomen.
Blood loss can cause anemia, a reduction in red blood cells that can cause weakness and fatigue.
Colorectal cancer involving the left side of the colon can cause cramping, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, or alternating constipation and diarrhea. Periodic rectal bleeding can also occur. Persons whose cancer involves the rectum may experience a feeling of rectal fullness, rectal bleeding, painful spasms, change in bowel movements, and change in the diameter of stools. Rectal cancers low enough to be reached by the examining finger can usually be detected by digital rectal examination. Colon cancers, however, are too high up in the bowel to be felt during digital rectal examination and require additional tests to be detected.