Colon Rectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is also known as colon or rectal cancer because it is a cancer that is found in either the colon or the rectum. In most cases colorectal cancer will begin as a polyp that develops on the lining of the colon and in most cases in benign. Even though these polyps may be benign at one point, they can turn cancerous at any time and when they do they will continue to grow and spread until detected.

It is important to know what puts you at risk for colorectal cancer and how you can prevent it. Even more so, regular screenings and checkups are crucial to catching colorectal cancer especially because polyps can easily be removed before they pose any danger to you. Though there are always different things that cause colorectal cancer and no one ever knows what that could be for them specifically, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important ways to guard yourself from developing colorectal cancer.

Understanding what the symptoms are for colorectal cancer along with knowing if you are at risk at all because of your lifestyle choices or family medical history are your two best ways to measure whether you might have colon cancer, or to put yourself on guard to recognize the symptoms. Unlike other cancers which sometimes make patients very ill with the identifiable symptoms, colon cancer has very insignificant symptoms for most individuals. There are a few things to watch for though if you suspect you might have colorectal cancer including, bleeding in the stool, a change in bowel habits all of a sudden, abdominal pain, anemia and sudden weight loss.

If an individual does present with colorectal cancer there are three basic types of treatment available which sometimes may be used together to cut out the cancer entirely. The first and most often used is one of several different types of surgery, that basically seek to remove or kill the cancer where ever it may be in the colon. If the cancer is discovered early on and has not had a lot of time to grow it is easier to remove the cancer without affecting the colon entirely. In cases where the cancer is larger it may be necessary to cut out and then reattach ends of the colon or to attach a colorectal bag to a stoma in the stomach. Other types of surgery attempt to kill cancer where it is in the colon while avoiding removal of the cancer and any of the colon.

The two other types of colorectal cancer treatment which are often used in addition to surgery are radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Both of these types of treatment are very aggressive, but they also have a really good rate of success making them a standard practice by doctors. Even after treatment though, it is necessary to continue care for colorectal cancer as there is always the chance that cancer cells can develop again on any new polyps that might appear on the lining of your colon. Always be diligent in obtaining screenings and maintaining your health.

Colon cancer or colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. And it occurs most often in people older than 50. With 655,000 deaths worldwide per year, it is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. When it is found early, it is easily treated and often cured. But because it usually is not found early, it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Knowing what are the symptoms of colon cancer is very important because it is easily treated if it is found early. The key is to find it as early as possible.

The first symptoms of colon cancer are usually vague, like bleeding, weight loss, and fatigue (tiredness). Local (bowel) symptoms are rare until the tumor has grown to a large size. Generally, the nearer the tumor is to the anus, the more bowel symptoms there will be.

The cecum and ascending colon are on the right side of your abdomen. Cancer in this area may bleed, causing blood in the stool and symptoms of anemia, including fatigue and weakness. The amount of blood may be small and so well mixed with stool that your stool may look normal. The transverse colon goes across your body from right to left. Cancer here may cause abdominal cramps. The descending colon and the S-shaped sigmoid colon are on the left side of your abdomen and join the rectum. Cancer here may cause narrower stools and bright red blood in the stool.

The lifetime risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 7%. Colorectal cancer can take many years to develop and early detection of colorectal cancer greatly improves the chances of a cure. If you or your doctor thinks you have colon cancer then you will need a test, called a colonoscopy, that lets the doctor see the inside of your entire colon and rectum. During this test, your doctor will remove polyps or take tissue samples from any areas that don't look normal.

Cancer is a condition that has become all too popular and moving thousands of people. There are loads of various types of cancer. Some of the more common types include; breast cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.

Out of these, colon cancer - also referred to as colorectal cancer - is the most popular. According to health stats 1 out of 17 people that reside in the United States only will be diagnosed with colon cancer. It has been rated the third most common cancer that men will be diagnosed with.

The things that makes this so deathly is how hard it is to diagnose it in the early stage. There are numerous contrasting types of it that will bear upon a person differently. Some are more extreme than others and if they are not spotted early there is no hopeful treatment for the patient.

Adenocarcinomas

This type is the most popular type of colon cancer that will start in a patient's glands. This type has two distinct subtypes that include; signet ring cell and mutinous. 90 - 95% of people who are diagnosed with colon cancer will suffer from the adenocarcinomas type.

Leiomyosarcomas

This type will start out inside of the smooth muscle that is within the colon. Less than 2% of people who are suffer from colon cancer will be diagnosed with this type. They also have an increased chance of recovering.

Lymphomas

Lymphomas is a rare type that ordinarily begins inside the rectum before moving to the colon. It is viable for them to start out in other parts of the body. When this takes place the cancer has an increased risk of spreading to the colon before traveling to the rectum at a faster pace.

Melanomas

This is also a rare type that will commonly form in a different area of a patient's body before it spreads to the colon and the rectum. Not even 2% of people diagnosed with colon cancer will be diagnosed with this condition.

Neuroendocrine Tumors

These tumors have been separated into two classifications; indolent and aggressive. The aggressive type are neuroendocrine tumors that can be large or small cell. Carcinoid tumors are indolent.

Colon cleansing makes your colon clear from all the harmful diets that has been taken by you and it also helps you lose your excessive weight in a sensible way. It's not just about cleaning your colon it's about maintaining your physical fitness. Colon cleansing is one of the approved and satisfying methods now day's for proper maintenance of your colon. Colon cleansing has got everything in it whether it's about colon or any part of the digestive system. In my article I will tell you how colon cleansing helps in colon cancer prevention.

The intended purpose of colon cleansing is to eliminate all the toxic matters and get nutrients back. Herbal ingredients are used in colon cleansers in large amount so that there will be no side effects. A plant product called psyllium is also very effective. The psyllium fiber expands when it contacts water and helps in the elimination of waste material. There are also oxygen based cleansers which helps all the unwanted matters dump out properly. Juice fasting is another method of getting your colon balanced because it gives all the rest which a stomach needs whenever it doesn't work properly.

Colon cancer prevention is a bothering task for the one who don't really care about his/her digestive system. Although this problem is not a common one but it is dangerous never the less. Doctors advise to get your digestive systems screened as you grow older and this the safest way of keeping yourself out of the colon cancer. Basically cancer shows up after so many stages of getting disturbed from colon, it's up to you to respond to it as quickly as you can. Maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, avoiding excessive intake of red meat and restricting yourself to low calories are some of the most common practiced methods for colon cancer prevention. If you smoke then you must quit it because it takes away all the vitamins and gives out all the harmful stuff which is not even needed by a human body for it's functioning.

In order to avoid a dangerous health problem which is colon cancer you must understand important facts about colon cancer prevention. This disease might not show up in your early days but this can become a severe problem in the later stages of your life.

Although it has been proven that acai kills cancer cells in certain types, there is no absolute cure for cancer. The best prevention is eating health and regular screenings for early detection.

Even in these difficult times, wealth will still get you far better service than the average person. Would you do anything different if you were faced with life and death and were really rich? Money is there to be used, after all.

This is how someone with a terminal illness spent $250,000 to add years to his life.

Mr. Joseph, a senior executive at a large company learned that he had terminal Stage 4 kidney cancer. Mr. Joseph was not famous but he was wealthy. He took bold action and contacted consultants for drug companies and offered himself as their next project.

He spent $50,000 to get a personal medical symposium - with four of the best kidney cancer experts in the world - immediately organized. The doctors soon recognized the best treatments for him, recommended the most appropriate drugs and treatment programs and got him admitted into a treatment program.

Mr. Joseph's health improved dramatically from the treatments, just like the not- so- wealthy people in that same program. But he stayed relatively healthy, while other patients with similar disease stages were going downhill; these other people did not have the knowledge or money to find the best therapy or the money to travel to the specific treatment site was at. But Mr. Joseph's health began to decline after six months in the program. By that time, other patients, not in the program, were already beginning to die.

But now he needed another treatment regimen or he was a goner. The medical researchers recommended experimental treatments for him, and the consulting company tried to get him admitted into these clinical trials.

Mr. Joseph was not allowed into these clinical trials because he had other unusual medical conditions. No amount of money would get him into controlled clinical trials. So he needed another way to get those medications.

Sometimes drug companies will make exceptions, but not this time. No amount of money was enough to open a slot for him in controlled clinical trials. So he needed another way to get the medications. He didn't have enough money to buy a drug company, so he did the next best thing.

Mr. Joseph spent $100,000 to have the experimental medicines formulated - just for him - by medicinal chemists. By that time, his symptoms had become very serious, and he was too tired to get out of bed. He knew he had only a few months of life left.

But the chemists delivered on time and Mr. Joseph got his very own supply of an experimental cancer drug. With that drug, he began to recover within two weeks. Three weeks later, he got out of bed and four weeks after that, he was able to walk around his neighborhood. Then, he went back to work part-time. That wonderful situation lasted almost a year when the cancer spread again and he began to go downhill once more.

Another $100,000 got Mr. Joseph a second experimental cancer drug and kept him alive and at work for almost another year before the cancer began to spread again. But this time, it kept spreading and none of the experimental medicines could help. He died a year later, surrounded by his friends and family. His money bought him an extra two years with his wife and kids.

Would you do anything different?

Colonoscopy and colonoscopies. They used to be high tech and rarely spoken of. Now colonoscopies are so routine and regularly done both as a means of diagnosis, follow-up and as a preventative course in members of families who are high risk for certain gut disorders and of course in families with a known high incidence of what is suspected to be a genetic predisposing to colon and colonic cancer and cancers. The procedure has become so commonplace and standard that one patient who after expounding at great length at how gentle his doctor -- the trained gastroenterologist was in his care, skill and procedure explained that his choice was for day surgery at the hospital where the procedure was done. It's in and out in one day, no fuss, no muss.

When asked further it turned out that with the day surgery for the colonoscopy procedure there was no anesthesia involved. It's one day, no observation at the clinic overnight or for several days -- it's in and out procedure. It turned out later in the explanation the reason for the day surgery was not fear of complications or concerns about anesthesia, or even the costs of the procedure, as they were covered by a health care plan. The explanation for the choice of day surgery for the colonoscopy procedure was that, "this way I do not have to pay for a cab. I park in the parking lot of the hospital free with a pass they give me. With no anesthesia, it's a day surgery. I can drive myself home and save the money it would cost for a cab." This is a true story but goes to illustrate in real terms how standard, simple and easy what was once a most specialized and often painful test is now common and easily, simply done and in most cases relatively painless.

In fact, a colonoscopy is currently a relatively simple procedure that takes 30 minutes or less. However fearing the test is no reason not to have it done. Indeed having a standard colonoscopy can save your life.

During colonoscopy an endoscopes - that is the trained person who performs the procedure - will insert a colon scope and advance it in the length of the colon. The colon scope has a light source itself, and transmits the image and images from the colon onto a display screen monitored by the trained endoscopes. It all sort of like a TV and a TV show.

What will or can the procedure show or do. First of all what is being looked for are inflamed areas, or areas of the colon that diseased, inflamed or downright suspicious. If such areas are found -- say for example a small growth or polyp, then the endoscopes can actually take a snippet or biopsy directly, so that it can be examined and tested by a surgeon or lab. Another good use for the test and procedure is for surveillance purposes as well as ongoing monitoring. It's either in families who have an increased risk in their family tree for say colonic cancers, or perhaps a person had some trouble or concerns in the past and in essence the doctor is just checking the progress of any change or changes if need be.

However a colon scope test is not for everyone. It is not a test that you routinely feel that you should ask your doctor to have performed. It is a serious, yet useful test and its use is on a risk versus benefit consideration. It is up to both your doctor and often a trained gastroenterologist physician to determine if the test is warranted for either yourself or for a loved family member.