Rectal cancer

We don't always know why someone gets rectal cancer. However, there are factors that increase the chance:

• Unhealthy lifestyle
• Heredity
• Chronic inflammation of the intestines

Symptoms of rectal cancer may include:

• Blood in the stool
• A change in the stool pattern
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• A feeling of fullness
• Less appetite for food
• Pain or cramping in the abdomen
• Pain when sitting
• Fatigue or dizziness

After treatment, the rectal cancer may come back. This happens to 5 to 10 out of 100 people. The cancer then often returns in the pelvis. This is called recurrent rectal cancer.

We sometimes see this during a check-up at the outpatient clinic. Sometimes you notice it yourself, for example by:

• blood in the stool
• Pelvic pain
• a palpable swelling
• difficulty with defecation

Typically, rectal cancer is not hereditary. Sometimes it is. In some families, colorectal cancer (colorectal or rectal cancer) is common. The doctor then suggests investigating whether there is a hereditary predisposition. Hereditary predisposition means that you are more likely to develop colon cancer than other people.

Some hereditary diseases increase the risk of colon cancer:

• Lynch syndrome
• Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP or AFAP)
• MUTYH Associated Polyposis (MAP)

The doctor can detect these diseases with genetic testing. The doctor then checks, for example, whether there is an error in the APC gene. Or to microsatellite instability (MSI).

Sometimes there is no clear reason why many people in a family develop colon cancer. Then family members will receive regular bowel examinations.