Colorectal Cancer Treatment

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. As March approaches, we should be mo

re aware of the impact of colorectal cancer on all of our lives. Colorectal canc
er is the fourth most common cancer in the United States and about 655,000 peopl
e across the world die from it annually. So what exactly is colorectal cancer an
yway? You might have heard of colon cancer or large bowel cancercancers that affe
ct the colon and the rectum are collectively known as colorectal cancer. The col
on is part of the large intestine, which is the final part of the digestive syst
em. The rectum is the last section of the colon. Usually colorectal cancer begin
s as benign lumps known as polyps, but these may progress into a malignant disea
se as they may have done 655,000 times in the past year.
This is why doctors want to remove polyps from inside of you as soon as possible
. Unfortunately, people often dont experience any negative symptoms in the early
stages of the disease. If you begin to notice certain signs, its important to see
k medical help right away. The symptoms of colorectal cancer include a change in
bowel movements that lasts over a couple weeks such as diarrhea or constipation
, blood in the stools, uncomfortable sensations in the abdomen like cramps, gas
and pain, fatigue, the feeling of your bowels never emptying completely, and une
xplained weight loss. These are symptoms that can happen to anyone short term, b
ut when they persist it may be indicative of a serious problem.
There are numerous options of colorectal cancer treatment, and the treatment tha
t patients receive depends on how far the cancer has progressed. Colorectal canc
er treatment largely consists of surgery and therapy. In the early stages, a col
onoscopy may be sufficient, in which a doctor surgically removes polyps from a s
mall area. If the cancer is more widespread, the doctor may have to remove part
of the colon and extra tissue. If the cancer is advanced, surgery is performed t
o relieve blockage since at this point its difficult to cure the cancer and you c
an only relieve the symptoms. The therapy portion of colorectal cancer treatment
involves chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill cancerous cells. These optio
ns are usually for more advanced colorectal cancer.
The number one form of colorectal cancer treatment is actually preventing it in
the first place. People can decrease the risk of getting cancer by leading healt
hy lifestyles and taking precautions if they are genetically predisposed to deve
loping colorectal cancer. Not only do we need to be aware of the impact of color
ectal cancer, we also need to be aware of how to lessen the severity of it.