01
Blood you explained away
You decided it was piles. It often is. But piles and cancer bleed in ways that look identical to you — and completely different to a scope.
Colorectal cancer · Screening · Surgery
The symptom you are hoping will go away on its ownis the one worth twenty minutes.
I am Dr. Ritesh Anand, MCh GI & colorectal surgeon at Smiles Institute of Gastroenterology, Bengaluru. Most people who walk into my hospital frightened walk out relieved. The ones who wait are the ones I worry about.
No sign-up. Nothing stored. Answers stay on your device.
Dr. Ritesh Anand
MCh GI & Colorectal Surgeon · Smiles Institute of Gastroenterology, Bengaluru
Caught early
Colorectal cancer found at an early stage is among the most curable cancers there is.
Caught late
The same disease, found years later, becomes one of the hardest conversations in oncology.
The difference
Almost always a scope that happened sooner rather than a treatment that arrived later.
Start here
Eight questions. Nobody has to know you took it.
2-minute check
Tick anything that is true for you.
Private. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere — the result is calculated in your browser.
Why this exists
Most people wait months before mentioning bleeding to anyone.
Colorectal cancer caught early is one of the most curable cancers there is. Caught late, it is one of the hardest. The gap between those two outcomes is usually a conversation that never happened.
The five
Signs people talk themselves out of — and what they actually mean.
02
A bowel habit that shifted and stayed shifted
Three weeks is the line. Looser, harder, thinner, more urgent — a pattern that does not return to baseline is worth one appointment.
03
Weight leaving without permission
Unintentional weight loss is never a lifestyle win. It is the body spending resources on something you have not been told about yet.
04
Tiredness diagnosed as 'work'
Slow bleeding from the right colon shows up as anaemia long before it shows up in the toilet. Exhaustion and breathlessness can be the first sign.
05
Being under 50 and being dismissed
Early-onset colorectal cancer is rising worldwide. Age is a statistic, not a shield. If symptoms persist, ask to be scoped.
If you recognised yourself twice in that list, you are not being dramatic by booking. You are being early — which is the whole game.
Clinical focus
What I treat, and how.
Colonoscopy & polypectomy
Diagnosis and prevention in the same sitting. Removing a polyp today is how a cancer never happens.
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Laparoscopic & robotic colorectal surgery
Keyhole approaches for colon and rectal cancer — smaller wounds, faster recovery, the same oncological rigour.
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Sphincter-preserving rectal surgery
Where anatomy and staging allow, surgery planned around keeping you out of a permanent stoma.
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Complex & recurrent disease
Multidisciplinary planning for locally advanced, recurrent, or previously operated cases.
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Stoma care & reversal
Temporary stomas are managed with a plan and a date, not open-ended uncertainty.
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Second opinions
Bring your reports. You get a clear read of your stage, your options and what each one actually costs you in daily life.
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What a visit feels like
No jargon wall. No decisions made over your head.
First
You are heard, then examined
History, symptoms, family risk, and what you are actually afraid of.
Then
You see your own scan
Findings are explained on the screen, in plain language, with the trade-offs named.
Then
A plan with a timeline
What happens, when, who else is involved, and what recovery realistically looks like.
After
You are not discharged into silence
Follow-up, surveillance intervals and a route back if something changes.
The doctor
Dr. Ritesh Anand
MCh GI & Colorectal Surgeon · Specialist in Colorectal Cancer & Advanced Proctology
QualificationsMCh Surgical Gastroenterology (SVIMS, Tirupati) · MS General Surgery (VIMS) · MBBS (MVJ Medical College)
Current practiceSenior & Lead Colorectal Surgeon, Smiles Institute of Gastroenterology, Mathikere, Bengaluru
Core skillsRobotic surgery · Laparoscopic surgery · Colorectal surgery
Special interestColorectal cancer, advanced proctology, organ preservation
“Nobody comes to a colorectal surgeon casually. By the time you are reading this, you have already been worrying for a while.”
I trained in general surgery at Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences and then in surgical gastroenterology at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati — three years spent almost entirely inside complex gastrointestinal and colorectal work. Today I lead colorectal surgery at Smiles Institute of Gastroenterology in Bengaluru.
My practice sits at the intersection of three things: robotic and laparoscopic technique, oncological completeness, and organ preservation. Keyhole access matters because recovery matters. But no approach is worth choosing if it compromises the margin — and none of it is worth much if the disease arrives late.
Smiles is built around Service, Compassion, Ethics, Excellence and Transparency, and the part of that list I care about most in practice is transparency: you should leave knowing your stage, your options, and what each one actually costs you in daily life.
Early diagnosis saves lives. That is not a slogan here — it is the entire reason this page exists.
The journal
What I would tell you if the appointment were free.
Symptoms · 18 August 2026
Blood in the stool: how to tell piles from something that needs a scope
Almost everyone decides it is piles. Most of the time they are right. Here is exactly when that assumption stops being safe.
Risk · 4 August 2026
Colorectal cancer under 50 is rising — and young patients are the most dismissed
Age is a statistic, not a shield. Why early-onset disease keeps getting labelled as piles, IBS or stress, and how to push back politely.
Procedures · 21 July 2026
Your first colonoscopy: an honest walkthrough, including the part nobody warns you about
The procedure is not the hard part. The preparation is. Here is the whole day, start to finish, with no euphemisms.
For medical professionals
If you are the doctor seeing the patient first, this section is for you.
Red-flag algorithms for rectal bleeding and early-onset disease, de-identified robotic case vignettes, operative footage for peers, and a direct line for discussing a case that does not read cleanly — no obligation to transfer care.
Red-flag study guides
Treat vs. scope decision paths for primary care.
Clinical case vignettes
Presentation → challenge → intervention → outcome.
Robotic video library
Technique in the narrow pelvis, peer access on request.
Peer-to-peer discussion
Imaging reviews and sphincter-preservation questions.
Consultation
Bring your reports. Leave with a plan.
In-person and video consultations. Second opinions welcome — send your colonoscopy report, biopsy and scans in advance and the appointment starts further ahead.
HospitalSmiles Institute of Gastroenterology, Mathikere, Bengaluru
Phone+91 90714 19988
Emailriteshanand95@gmail.com
HoursAdd consulting days and timings
Emergencies are not handled by this page. For heavy bleeding, severe pain or an inability to pass stool or gas, go to the nearest emergency department.