Small bowel cancer is an uncommon type of cancer that occurs in the small intestine. Your small intestine, which is also called the small bowel, is a long tube that carries digested food between your stomach and your large intestine (colon).
The small intestine is responsible for digesting and absorbing nutrients from the foods you eat. It produces hormones that help with digestion. The small intestine also plays a role in your body's germ-fighting immune system, as it contains cells that fight bacteria and viruses that enter your body through your mouth.
Types of small bowel cancer include:
• Adenocarcinoma
• Neuroendocrine tumors, including carcinoid tumors and paraganglioma
• Lymphoma
• Sarcoma, including gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)
Symptoms of small bowel cancer include:
• Abdominal pain
• Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice)
• Feeling unusually weak or tired
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Losing weight without trying
• Blood in the stool, which might appear red or black
• Watery diarrhea
• Skin flushing
Courtesy: Mayo Clinic
