Rectal cancer grows low in the bowel, close to the anus, so changes show up early—often in the bathroom or on the toilet paper. Bright-red bleeding is the headline. You see blood on the paper or streaked on the stool, usually painless and often blamed on hemorrhoids. Thin, ribbon-like stools are typical. The tumor narrows the passage, so bowel movements become pencil-skinny and hard to pass. Urgency and tenesmus show up. You feel a strong need to go, yet only gas or mucus comes out, and the urge returns minutes later. Mucus discharge is common. Clear or pink jelly coats... Learn more