Cancer Research says “your doctor won’t think you are wasting their time” and you should always tell your doctor about symptoms.
The bowel is part of the digestive system, which is necessary for breaking down food and moving undigested waste along towards the rectum to be excreted from the body. Unsurprisingly, many symptoms can show up when you go to the toilet.
In both men and women, symptoms can include blood in your poo or a change in your normal bowel habit.
These might be looser poo, pooing more often, or constipation.Signs include a lump that your doctor can feel in your back passage or tummy, or a feeling of needing to strain in your back passage, as if you need to poo, even after opening your bowels.