There are about ten symptoms of colon cancer - I had seven of them before being diagnosed. I knew I was sick, but I was too young to have colon cancer (47) so I figured it must have been irritable bowel or colitis or someting like that. I was not overweight (well, I was overweight by BMI standards, but not overly so), I did not smoke or drink, there is almost no cancer in my family, and my diet was typical but not terrible. I had not been to the doctor in years because I was healthy. When the blood bank stopped taking my blood because I was anemic and I constantly felt like crap, I went to the doctor. The gastroenterologist told me my polyp was there for probably three years. Thinking back, I can idenitfy my first symptom (a change in bowel habits) occurring about 10 months before diagnosis. By the time of diagnosis (Sept 11, 2003, ironically enough), the cancer was in the lymph nodes (stage 3). It ultimately spread to my liver, resulting in another major surgery last year, and more debilitating chemo.

Prevention is the key.