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.
