Cancer cell
Are you seeing clumps of white goop or film with your poops? Cancer may come to mind.
As yucky or scary as this white film or goop looks when it’s mixed with your stools, you can be reassured it is not a sign of cancer.
“White film, which forms on top of the stool, usually is caused by steatorrhea (fat in or on the stools),” says Franjo Vladic, MD, a board certified gastroenterologist with Center for Digestive Health and Endoscopy Center in Ohio.
“Other symptoms of steatorrhea may include abdominal pain or cramping, the stool floating on top of the toilet water (think of how vinegar floats on water), or foul-smelling stool.”
The white film is sometimes referred to as mucus. “Mucus is a jelly-like substance,” says Dr. Vladic.
“The presence of mucus in stool is common. Mucus is usually clear but it may also appear white or yellow in color.
“There are no specific symptoms associated with mucus in stools.
“It can be produced from the intestinal lining, which is a normal physiological process to help with transit of your poops through the colon to be voided, and there is no diagnosis associated with mucus in stools.”
Thank goodness! So you now no longer have to feel fear upon seeing those white filmy blobs or clumps with your stools.
Their presence may be often or intermittent. You can now just ignore them.
But if the white film in your stools has got you wondering about colon cancer…again, rest assured, this is not a symptom of colon cancer (or any other cancer).
Cologuard
And by the way, you can do a home screening for colon cancer with Cologuard, a simple to use test that your doctor can prescribe for you if you’re not yet ready to undergo a colonoscopy.
The Cologuard kit enables you to gather a sample of your poop and mail it off so that it can be analyzed with the most advanced DNA technology.
This technology will identify, if present, suspicious looking cells in the sample.
If your doctor has not heard of Cologuard, here is the Cologuard number: 1-844-870-8870.
Dr. Vladic’s special interests include acid reflux, colitis, colon cancer, GERD, heartburn, IBS, liver disease, obesity, pancreatitis and peptic ulcer, among many others.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Kateryna KonWhite Film on Stools
