Cancers of the Colon, Rectum and Anus

       

 

Cancers of the Colon, Rectum and Anus - The digestive tract is the part of the body that digests foodstuff - extracting nutrients, electrolytes and water - for the body to use.  The colon and rectum make up part of the digestive system.  After extracting what the body can use (in the colon) stool is passed on to the rectum (the last place before being dispelled).  The anus is the orifice (hole) that is used to expel stool to the outside.

Cancer occurs when cells that line the wall of the colon or rectum transform into what are referred to as adenocarcinomas. These cancer cells usually begin in abnormal growths - referred to as polyps (also called adenoma).  Over one third of the approximate 150 000 patients diagnosed each year - will die in the United States.  Treatments and early detection have dramatically reduced the death rate of this cancer in the last two decades.

Diagnosis - diagnosis is done via screening (for patients that do not have symptoms) and testing for those that do have symptoms.  For patients that do not have symptoms screening by imaging using successive images (over a period of years) is used to detect changes or growths.  For patients that have symptoms - these usually include:

  • going to the bathroom less often

  • thinner than usual stool

  • stomach bloating and cramps

  • blood (bright red) in stools

  • unexplained weight loss

  • feelings of tiredness

  • trouble going to the bathroom

  • nausea

  • more gas than usual

- a doctor may prescribe: barium enema, sigmoidoscopy (A direct visualization of the colon and rectum with a flexible tube called sigmoidoscope), or a colonoscopy.  Tests may include checking the stool for blood.  If the doctor finds abnormal growths, the growth can be checked out by having a biopsy done and then to have it analyzed in a lab.

 

Treatment - The treatment recommended by most doctors is surgery - removal of the affected part.  A small percentage of patients undergoing surgical removal (approximately 15%) require a colostomy (pulling a section of the large intestine out of the abdomen to allow for stools to pass out directly to the outside).

 

Chemotherapy can also be done using a combination of drugs designed to treat the cancer or block it.

 

Immunotherapy (getting your own body to launch an immune reaction to the disease) or radiological therapy (directing radiation at the tumor) have also been successful in fighting this type of cancer.

 

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