Health Tools

Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.

	Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.
	Colon Cancer: Which Screening Test Should I Have?

Symptoms

Colon polyps usually do not cause symptoms unless they are larger than 1 cm (0.4 in.) or they are cancerous. The most common symptom is rectal bleeding. Sometimes the bleeding may not be obvious (occult) and may only be discovered after doing a screening test for blood in the stool called a fecal occult blood test (FOBT).

Colon polyps usually do not cause pain or a change in bowel habits unless they are large and are blocking part of the colon. These symptoms are rare because polyps usually are discovered and removed before they become large enough to cause problems.

After cancer develops, additional symptoms may occur, such as changes in bowel habits and significant weight loss.