Colon Cancer
Colon cancer is a medical disorder that is characterized by the development of cancer cells (malignant cells) in the colonic tissues or tissues of the large intestine.
What are the risk factors of colon cancer ?
There are multiple risk factors of colon cancer (factors that increase the risk of getting colon cancer) such as :
- Age Colon cancer affects the elderly and people of age 50 or greater are more prone to get this disease.
- Positive family history A positive family history of the colon or rectal cancer increases the risk.
- Personal history of colon cancer, rectal cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer or breast cancer also increases the risk.
- Personal history of polyps Presence of colon polyps also increases the risk.
- Personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease) increases the risk.
- Hereditary diseases such as familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (Lynch Syndrome or HNPCC) also increase the risk of development of colon cancer in an individual.
Signs and Symptoms of colon cancer
The most important signs and symptoms of colon cancer are :
- Presence of a change in bowel habits
- Presence of blood in the stool. Blood can be very dark or bright red
- Presence of constipation or diarrhea or incomplete bowel emptying
- Presence of stools that is narrow in size in comparison to the normal
- Presence of recurrent abdominal pain due gas, abdominal fullness and cramps
- Unintentional weight loss
- Feeling of tiredness and generalized fatigue
- Presence of vomiting
Prognosis of colon cancer
The prognosis or chance of recovery of colon cancer is dependent on various factors including :
- The stage of the cancer when it is diagnosed
- Whether there is presence of colonic rupture or colonic obstruction
- The blood levels of CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen)
- Presence of recurrence of cancer
- What is the general health of the patient
Treatment of colon cancer
There are different types of treatment options that are available for a patient suffering from colon cancer. The type of treatment that will be used in any individual case will depend upon the following factors :
- The stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis
- Presence of recurrence of cancer
- What is the general health of the patient
The three types of treatment methods used to treat colon cancer are :
Surgery
Surgery or removal of the cancer is one of the most common types of treatment for cancer of all stages. The different types of surgical procedures used to treat colon cancer are :
- Local excision of the cancer
- Resection and colostomy
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Cryosurgery
Some patients may require adjuvant therapy in the form of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, even after all the cancerous tissue is removed through surgical excision.
What is the importance of screening ?
The importance of screening lies in the fact that if not detected early, the cancer can spread to other parts of the body and may require more complicated surgery to treat it. Screening is also important because early colorectal cancer do not produce significant symptoms.