Some Answers To Colon Cancer Questions

1. What is colon cancer?

Cancer is a disease which can affect cells from all organs. The colon cancer affects the cells of the colon, determining them to proliferate in an uncontrollable way. This mass of abnormal cells will form a tumor inside the colon. The cancer of the intestine is quite frequent and two thirds of this type of cancer is situated in the colon.

2. Who can develop colon cancer?

You are at risk of developing colon cancer if you drink a lot of alcohol and you are obese. Also if other members of your family had colon cancer or breast cancer you could inherit some genes that make you more sensible to cancer. If you have polyps on your intestine and you leave them untreated for a long time, they can transform into malign polyps, meaning that cancer had occurred.

3. Is my diet involved in cancer development?

Following a diet which is rich in fats and proteins could expose you to cancer. If you eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and high fiber foods you can prevent colon cancer from occurring.

4. Does colon cancer come with any symptoms?

There are some symptoms which could announce that cancer is installing, but they also appear in other diseases. Some of the symptoms are: seeing blood in your bowels, alternation of diarrhea with constipation, and low abdominal pains.

5. How does the doctor know that I have cancer?

The doctor will perform a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy to examine the insides of the colon. Also x-rays of the colon will be performed. These methods will see if tumors are present inside the colon. In order to stage colon cancer CT and ultrasound will be used.

6. Can colon cancer be treated?

Generally the most indicated procedure in trying to treat colon cancer is surgery. By surgery the doctors will remove the tumor from the colon. If the cancer spread, giving metastasis, the doctors will recommend you chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These are hard bearable due to their side effects like nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, fever, and tiredness.

7. Is the treatment effective or not?

If the colon cancer was diagnosed in its early stages and it has not spread to other organs the treatment will be 90% effective and patients will survive even five years after. If the cancer has given metastasis the treatment will not be so effective any more and half of the diagnosed patients will live less that five years.

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Colon Cancer Information

Colon cancer is more commonly known as bowel cancer, this is where there is a malignant growth in the colon. Early symptoms of colon cancer can include a change in bowel movements either constipation or diahoerria , pain in the lower abdomen, blood mixed in with the faeces. These symptoms are fairly mundane, so often go un-noticed causing the tumor to grow undetected, inperticulally as people still find it hard to discuss there bowel movements with anybody especially there Doctor. Occasionally there are no symptoms until the tumor has got so large that it causes a blockage in the intestine or Could possibly even perforate the intestine. Some forms of colon cancer can be genetic/hereditary however in some cases of colon cancer the precise reason people Contract the disease is unknown. Diet may be cause of colon cancer, eating a lot of meat, too much fatty foods and not enough fiber, fruit and vegetables all add up to a un-healthy diet so increasing the risk of colon cancer.

The tests carried out to diagnose colon cancer include a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy. A sigmoidoscopy is when a camera is inserted into the anus to examine the rectum and the sigmoid colon. A colonoscopy is when a flexible fibre-optic camera Called a colonscope is put into the body via the anus and fed along the colon. Instruments may be fed down the colonscope So this is how a biopsy would be performed. Colon cancer can often occur with other diseases of the colon, for example ulcerative colitis.

The chance of a cure for colon cancer depends on whether you get a early enough diagnosis. Surgery is the best chance of Survival and sometimes radiotherapy and chemotherapy may also be offered, but there would be no guarenties of a very long term future. The surgical procedure involves a general anesthetic and the diseased part of the colon is removed plus a bit extra on both sides to make sure they have it all. The amount of colon that has to be removed varies from person to person but the Majority of people will end up with a colostomy. This is where a small inscision is made in the stomach and the healthy colon Is pulled through it and secured this is called a stoma. The stoma makes it possible for the person to still have there bowels opened by means of a colostomy bag which is attached to the stoma usually by a adhesive. These bags are disposable and Keep all smells etc in [until you change them when the bowel has worked]. The colostomy is sometimes only temporary depending on how much bowel was removed. If it is to be only temporary it could be there for up to six months just to allow the colon to heal without faeces being past through it. If the colostomy is to be permanent than the anus may be sewn up whilst the person is in theatre having there diseased colon removed and the stoma made.

Colon cancer is still a large killer but mostly because people do not get it diagnosed early enough. The survival rate is much better when diagnoses are made early as treatment can begin and may not end up being so evasive. It is a shame to die from embarrassment is it not.

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Colon Cancer Treatment

Surgical procedures Your surgeon removes the part of your colon that contains the cancer, along with a margin of normal tissue on either side of the cancer to help ensure that no cancer is left behind. Nearby lymph nodes are usually also removed and tested for cancer.

Your surgeon is often able to reconnect the healthy portions of your colon or rectum. But when that's not possible, for instance if the cancer is at the outlet of your rectum, you may need to have a permanent or temporary colostomy. This involves creating an opening in the wall of your abdomen from a portion of the remaining bowel for the elimination of body wastes into a special bag. Sometimes the colostomy is only temporary, allowing your colon or rectum time to heal after surgery.

In some cases, however, the colostomy may be permanent. In cases of rare, inherited syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis, or inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis, you may need removal of your entire colon and rectum as a prophylactic measure.Then, in a procedure known as ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, your surgeon will likely construct a pouch from the end of your small intestine that attaches directly to your anus. This allows you to expel waste normally, although you may have several watery bowel movements a day.

Side effects of colon cancer surgery may include short-term pain and tenderness, and temporary constipation or diarrhea. If you have a colostomy, you may develop an irritation on the skin around the opening (stoma). If your cancer is small, localized in a polyp and in a very early stage, your surgeon may be able to remove it completely during a colonoscopy. If the pathologist determines that the cancer in the polyp doesn't involve the base — where the polyp is attached to the bowel wall — then there is a good chance that the cancer has been completely eliminated. Some larger polyps may be removed using laparoscopic surgery. In this procedure, your surgeon performs the operation through several tiny incisions in your abdominal wall, using small instruments with attached cameras that display your colon on a video monitor.

He or she may also take samples from the lymph nodes that drain the area where the cancer is located. Studies have found that people undergoing this procedure need less pain medication and leave the hospital a day earlier on average. Also, people who have this procedure don't have higher rates of recurrence than those who choose the open surgery.

If your cancer is advanced or your health poor, only a small portion of your colon or rectum may be removed. This isn't as effective as surgeries that remove more tissue, and doctors mainly do this to relieve blockages or bleeding. This is referred to as palliative surgery; it isn't curative.

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