I am a 71-year old female, fairly active and in relatively good health. However, recently I have developed several symptoms that, as a whole, are causing me to begin to wonder if they could be indicative of something more serious. In the last six months my abdomen has begun to bulge although my weight has remained unchanged. The bulge is between my breasts and waist, making it difficult to keep my waist band at my natural waist, which has always been proportionately small. I also often have shooting pains on both sides of my abdomen that result from twisting movements at the waist. In the last year, I have had daily instances of incontinence and am often constipated which seem to be a result of having extremely large stools that are difficult to pass. I first experienced this constipation while undergoing chemo for breast cancer six years ago. I also had a lumpectomy and radiation and no recurrence (I have been seeing my oncologist every 3 months and have frequent mammograms. Four years ago, I had very early-stage colon cancer for which I had surgery but no chemo or radiation. I was told that the colon cancer was independent and not related to my breast cancer. After that, I would have similar episodes of constipation about every 4-5 weeks. Do these symptoms give cause for alarm?