Understanding Colon Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Colon Cancer

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

Additional names

This group contains additional names: - Colorectal Cancer (CRC)

General

Colon cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the colon. it can be serious, but there are many ways to treat it. The colon is part of your body’s digestive system, which process food and helps pass waste material out of the body. The colon is the main part of the large intestine and is about 5 feet long. Colon cancer often begins as a growth called a *polyp* inside the large intestine, that slowly evolved into a malignant tumor. Like most cancer types, colon cancer is divided into stages, according to how much it has spread out of the intestine into the rest of your body.

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Signs & symptoms

Signs of colon cancer include blood in the stool, change in bowel habits (size, texture or frequency), abdominal pain and weakness. These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by colon cancer or by other conditions.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and perform a physical exam. The following tests might be done next: -*blood tests* to check for any abnormalities and tumor markers -*Colonoscopy*- a procedure to look inside the colon for polyps, abnormal areas, or cancer. If abnormal area was found, a *biopsy*, in which a small piece of tissues is taken out so it can be viewed under a microscope, will be done. -*Imaging tests* such as a *CT scan*.

Treatment

There are different types of treatment for patients with colon cancer. The treatment depends on the type of cancer, its stage and your general health: -*Surgery* – to remove the cancer -*Chemotherapy*- medication that will kill cancerous cells or stop their growing. -*Radiation therapy*- high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation used to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. -*Targeted therapy*- drugs or other substances that are aimed to attack specific cancer cells.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

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I babe my five year colonoscopy coming up next wed I’ve had them many times . I always have polyps the ones that can turn over to something bad . So now I have anxiety hoping my polyps will be ok . I never leave without polyps sometimes two or one . One time seven . My question is it takes many years for polyps to turn to cancer . I heard this from someone is this true that it takes polyps at least ten years to be cancer? I have many friends with **colon cancer** now that’s why I’m afraid this time . But none of them Ever had a colonoscopy in their life so they may have had polyps growing along time . . I have them Every three to five years. Just need a pep talk that it takes along time for them to change over if anyone knows that’s the case. Ugg scared

Going for surgery this Thursday for colon in ascending colon. Not staged yet. Where was your **tumor** and how large?

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