Colorectal Cancer Treatment

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. As March approaches, we should be more aware of the impact of colorectal cancer on all of our lives. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States and about 655,000 people across the world die from it annually. So what exactly is colorectal cancer anyway? You might have heard of colon cancer or large bowel cancer—cancers that affect the colon and the rectum are collectively known as colorectal cancer. The colon is part of the large intestine, which is the final part of the digestive system. The rectum is the last section of the colon. Usually colorectal cancer begins as benign lumps known as polyps, but these may progress into a malignant disease 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 don’t experience any negative symptoms in the early stages of the disease. If you begin to notice certain signs, it’s important to seek 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 unexplained weight loss. These are symptoms that can happen to anyone short term, but when they persist it may be indicative of a serious problem.

There are numerous options of colorectal cancer treatment, and the treatment that patients receive depends on how far the cancer has progressed. Colorectal cancer treatment largely consists of surgery and therapy. In the early stages, a colonoscopy may be sufficient, in which a doctor surgically removes polyps from a small 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 to relieve blockage since at this point it’s difficult to cure the cancer and you can only relieve the symptoms. The therapy portion of colorectal cancer treatment involves chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill cancerous cells. These options 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 healthy lifestyles and taking precautions if they are genetically predisposed to developing colorectal cancer. Not only do we need to be aware of the impact of colorectal cancer, we also need to be aware of how to lessen the severity of it.