Colorectal cancer begins in the colon or rectum. The risk of colorectal cancer rises when you grow older and eat a meat-rich diet. The risk rises even more if you smoke or have a family history of cancer. Furthermore, colorectal cancer signs include pain, blood on the stool, and changes in bowel habits. Doctors recommend routine screening for colorectal cancer, starting at 50 years of age.
What Is Colorectal Cancer?
Colorectal cancer is cancer that begins in the colon (large intestine) or rectum. Both of these organs are in the lower half of the digestive system. The rectum is in the far end of the colon.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that about 1 in 23 males and 1 in 25 females will grow colorectal cancer during their lifetime.
Your doctor can use staging as a guideline to find out how far cancer has gone. Your doctor needs to know the stage of cancer. They can come up with the right treatment plan for you and give you an idea of your long-term outlook.
Stage 0 Colorectal cancer is the early stage, and stage 4 is the most advanced:
- stage 0. Also known as carcinoma in situ. Hence, in this stage, irregular cells are found only in the colon or rectum’s inner lining.
- Stage 1. Cancer has entered the lining, mucosa, colon or rectum, and may have developed into a muscle layer. It has not spread to surrounding lymph nodes or to other parts of the body.
- Stage 2. Cancer has spread to the colon or rectum walls or through the walls to nearby tissues but hasn’t affected the lymph nodes.
- Stage 3. Cancer has moved to the lymph nodes but not to other areas of the body.
- Stage 4. Cancer spread to other organs, including the liver and lungs.
Risk Factors
Some causes that raise the risk of developing colorectal cancer are unavoidable. Age is just one of them. Your chances of contracting this cancer rise as you reach the age of 50.
Other Such Fixed Risk Factors Are As Follows:
- History of colon polyps
- Previous history of bowel diseases
- Colorectal cancer family history
- To have such genetic syndromes, such as family adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
- Being of Jewish or African origin from Eastern Europe;
Modifiable Risk Factors
You can avoid other risk factors. This means that you can change them to reduce your risk of developing colorectal cancer. The avoidable risk factors shall include:
- Being overweight or obese
- Smoking
- Being a heavy drinker
- To have type 2 diabetes.
- To have a sedentary lifestyle.
- Eating a diet high in processed meat
Symptoms
Symptoms of colorectal cancer include the following:
- Changes in bowel habits
- Diarrhea or constipation
- A feeling that the bowel would not empty after bowel movements;
- Fecal blood that makes stools look dark;
- Bright red blood from the rectum
- Bloating and pain in the abdomen
- A feeling of fullness in the abdomen, even after not eating for a time.
- Tiredness or tiredness
- Inexplicable weight loss
- The lump in the abdomen or the back of the doctor
- Unexplained iron deficiency in men or women during menopause
Stage 3 or 4 symptoms (late-stage symptoms)
Colorectal cancer signs are more noticeable at a late stage (stages 3 and 4). In addition to the symptoms described above, you can also experience:
- Excessive fatigue;
- Unexplained weakness;
- Unintentional weight loss
- Changes to the stool that lasts more than a month
- A sensation of not being empty in the intestines
- Vomiting;
If colorectal cancer cells spread of the body, you may experience:
- Yellow teeth and skin
- Swelling of the hands or feet
- Breathing difficulties
- Chronic headaches
- Blurry vision
- Bone fractures
What Causes Colorectal Cancer?
Researchers are still researching the causes of colorectal cancer.
Genetic mutations can cause cancer, either hereditary or acquired. These mutations do not guarantee that you can grow colorectal cancer, but they increase your chances.
Some mutations can cause abnormal cells to collect, forming polyps in the lining of the colon. These are small, benign growths.
Removing these growths by surgery can be a preventive step. Untreated polyps can become cancerous.
Treatment
It will depend on various factors, including the size, location, and level of cancer, whether it is chronic, and the patient’s current general health status.
Treatment options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.
Colorectal Cancer Surgery
This is the most common form of treatment. Doctors would remove the infected malignant tumours and any nearby lymph nodes to minimize cancer risk.
The bowel is normally sewn back together. But sometimes the doctor removes the rectum and attaches the colostomy bag for drainage. So the colostomy bag collects the stool. This is typically a temporary measure. But it can be permanent if the doctor cannot join the bowel ends together.
If the doctor diagnoses cancer early enough, surgery can be successful in removing it. If surgery does not stop cancer, it will ease the symptoms.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy requires the application of a medicine or a chemical to destroy cancer cells. Doctors use it widely to treat cancer of the colon. It can help to shrink the tumour before surgery.
Targeted therapy is a form of chemotherapy that directly targets proteins that promote the development of some cancers. They can have fewer side effects than other forms of chemotherapy. Drugs you can use to treat colorectal cancer include bevacizumab (Avastin) and ramucirumab (Cyramza).
The research found that people with advanced colon cancer who are taking chemotherapy with a family history of colorectal cancer have a significantly lower risk of recurrence and death from cancer.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation treatment uses high-energy radiation rays to destroy cancer cells to keep them from spreading. Doctors use it most commonly in the treatment of rectal cancer. Doctors use it before surgery to try to shrink the tumour.
Both radiation therapy and chemotherapy can be administered after surgery to help minimize the risk of recurrence.
Ablation
Ablation can destroy the tumour without removing it. Doctors can perform it using radiofrequency, ethanol, or cryosurgery. They are delivered using an ultrasound or CT scanning technology-guided probe or needle.
Recovery
Malignant tumours can spread to other parts of the body if untreated. The probability of a successful cure depends heavily on the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The following factors determine the recovery of a patient:
- The phase at which the doctor completes diagnosis
- If cancer has produced a hole or blockage in the colon
- The general state of health of patients;
In certain cases, cancer can come back.
The Bottom Line
Colorectal cancer is treatable when caught early.
With early detection, most patients survive at least five years after diagnosis. If cancer does not return at that time, there is a very low risk of recurrence, especially if you have early-stage disease.
