‘Pencil poos’ are an unusual sign of bowel cancer – plus 9 other signs

REGULARLY passing “pencil poos” could be a sign you’re suffering from bowel cancer, experts warn.

Narrow stools are a rare but “highly concerning” symptom of the deadly disease, they say.

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People with bowel cancer sometimes come into clinics saying they’ve noticed a change to their normal toilet routine, according to Dr Michael Cecchini, of Yale University.

He told HuffPost: “Stools are much thinner, or they’re pencil in thickness and size, which is a description that some patients with colorectal cancer will have.

“When it exists, it is highly concerning. It’s just not one of the more common symptoms of the disease.”

Bowel cancer is now the third most common cancer in Britain, with 41,596 Brits diagnosed in 2021.

It is the UK’s second deadliest cancer, claiming 16,000 lives each year.

However, nine in 10 patients survives it if diagnosed at the earliest stage, according to Bowel Cancer UK.

The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign, spearheaded by Dame Deborah James, has called for earlier testing and treatments to improve survival rates in Britain.

Other symptoms can include changes to your poo, such as it becoming softer or suffering diarrhoea or constipation that is unusual to you.

Needing to poo more or less than usual, having blood in your poo, bleeding from your bottom and needing to more often, even after just going, are also signs.

Tummy pain, bloating, losing weight accidentally and feeling very tired for no reason are other symptoms.

Narrow poos are a symptom of the disease, but they do not always indicate someone is suffering from it.

Experts said they could mean you should talk to a doctor and get a colonoscopy to check what is going on.

Dr Cecchini said: “It’s important to catch cancer early through screening or alerting to some of … these symptoms so that we diagnose cancer at an earlier stage, where it’s more treatable and hopefully curable.”

Other types of poos

According to the Bristol Stool Scale, your number two will fit into one of several categories.

The helpful guide compares poo to different objects — from modern art and insects to food.

Sausage-like poos that are soft and easy to pass are what experts call “the gold standard of poop”.

This is because it indicates that all is going smoothly with your digestion and that you’re eating the right amount of fibre.

Snake-shaped poops that are softer than sausage-shaped ones and easier to pass are also considered normal.

You should get number twos like these every one to three days normally.

Caterpillar-like poos that are a bit like pellet poos but longer and also suggest your body needs some fibre.

Amboeas on the other hand are small and easy to pass.

These poos are different to diarrhoea, which you can’t really control.

According to the NHS, most cases of diarrhoea should clear up without treatment, especially if it more closely resembles the soft serve on the chart, which suggests you’re suffering from a mild case of the runs.

Crohn’s disease is a bowel condition that can cause inflammation anywhere in the digestive tract, the NHS says, with diarrhoea a key symptom.

Over 500,000 people in the UK have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the two main forms of which are Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.

It’s a good idea to stay hydrated and to choose foods that are easy to digest.