Colon Cancer - Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

To understand colon cancer, we first have to understand what the colon is.  The colon is also called the large bowel or a portion of the large intestine.  The large intestine is five or six feet long, with the first five feet comprising the colon.  The colon connects to around half a foot of rectum, finally ending at the anus.

It takes about three to eight hours for food that's eaten to reach the colon.  By then, nutrients are absorbed with the rest being converted to liquid waste.  The purpose of the colon is to convert this liquid into solid matter called "stool."  The stool spends somewhere between ten hours to a few days inside the colon before it's expelled via the anus.  Some have theorized that when stool stays in the colon for a longer time, there's a higher risk for colon risk.  However, this has never been proven.

When malignant tissue grows in the colon's walls, it becomes what we know as colon cancer.  Most of these tumors start as the colon wall's normal tissue forms a polyp.  A polyp is a pre-cancer growth that projects from the wall of the colon.  The tumor forms as the polyp grows larger and larger. Sometimes this growing process takes place over a period of several years.  This is fortunate, because it allows time for the patient and doctor to detect it before it becomes irreversibly deadly.

In the Western world, colon cancer is the third most commonly found cancer, both in men and women.  For some reason, it's been found that there is a higher incidence of this cancer within the African American community.

There are several risk factors that make a person more likely to develop colon cancer.  For instance, there is a substantial rise in the number of cases among people above age 50 (Still, there is a significant number who get the disease each year below this age).  Also, people with a family history of colon cancer or polyps have a higher likelihood of developing the cancer, as do those with family members with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

It's important to remember that this does not mean those without a previous family history of colon history need not worry about it.  According to one report, around 80 percent of new cases of colon cases are in those not considered "high risk." 

Some other factors that raise a person's risk of developing colon cancer include a high-fat diet that is also low in vegetables and fruits; a high calorie intake; little physical activity; obesity; smoking; and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.  Even people who avoid all of these factors sometimes develop colon cancer, so screening is important for everyone, especially as they approach age 50.

There are things people can do to lower their risk of colon cancer, even if it doesn't eliminate it altogether.  These include following a low-fat diet which is high in vegetables and fruits; eat red meat only rarely; get regular exercise; keep your weight at a healthy level; and of course, get screening.

Since some polyps or tumors bleed intermittently, a test called fecal occult blood testing can detect this blood in stool samples.  The American Cancer Society recommends that this test be done annually, along with a flexible sigmoidoscopy, which is done every five years after a person reaches age 50.  Together, these tests detect around 76 percent of tumors in the colon. 

The sigmoidoscope is a thin, flexible tube with an ability to view a third of the colon.  If a polyp is detected, the patient is referred to have a complete colonoscopy done to remove the polyp and test it for cancer. The device used for this, a colonoscope, resembles the sigmoidoscope, but it's longer and can examine the whole colon.  If a polyp is located, the doctor is able to remove it for examination at a pathology lab.  If it's found to be cancerous, treatment begins.  The American Cancer Society suggests the colonoscopy be done every ten years following a person's 50th birthday.

Armed with the right information and a regular system of having the colon examined, the patient's chances are good for beating the defeatable monster of colon cancer.