| Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths | | | | then sew the intestine back. The large intestine is |
| in the USA, and the number of patients is increasing | | | | over 4 feet long so removing a few inches from it |
| each year. | | | | won't hurt much. |
| Colon cancer occurs when a tumor appears inside the | | | | After the colon cancer surgery, tests are performed |
| colon or the rectum. Two types of tumors can form | | | | in order to check in there are any other cancerous |
| inside the large intestine (the colon together with the | | | | cells left in the body. If these tests show that the |
| rectum form the large intestine) - benign tumors and | | | | cancer has passed through the large intestine's walls, |
| malignant tumors. Benign tumors are called polyps, | | | | into the abdominal cavity, and it has infected cells and |
| and they can easily be surgically removed without | | | | tissues there, then a stage 3 colon cancer is |
| any complications. However, in many cases benign | | | | diagnosed. If there are other places where the |
| tumors are not discovered, and in time they turn into | | | | cancer has spread, then stage 4 colon cancer is the |
| malignant tumors. Malignant tumors are tumors that | | | | diagnose. |
| evolve and spread very fast and can cause death. | | | | After the diagnose the patient must immediately |
| If a polyp that's inside the colon has just turned into | | | | continue the therapy, in order to remove all the |
| a malignant tumor, then colon cancer appears. In this | | | | remaining cancer cells. More clinical trials must be |
| early stage it can be treated and cured without any | | | | performed to establish what the best treatment is. |
| problems, but the existence of the tumor does not | | | | Stage 3 colon cancer can be cured, and the survival |
| cause any signs and symptoms to appear until the | | | | rate of patients is around 50%. The treatment used |
| cancer has already spread much, so it's hard to | | | | in most cases is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is |
| detect these early tumors. | | | | done by injecting some substances directly in the |
| After it has spread, colon cancer starts to cause | | | | blood. These substances can help the body fight the |
| symptoms that can't be overlooked, like blood in the | | | | cancerous cells, but they also cause severe |
| stool, change in bowel habits, fatigue, vomiting, | | | | side-effects, among which you can find loss of hair, |
| stomach aches, so in this phase it's easy to discover | | | | loss of weight, fatigue, confusion, and many more. |
| and diagnose it, after some clinical tests and trials. | | | | Chemotherapy treatment is improved each year, and |
| The firs thing that doctors do once a patient is | | | | scientists hope to find the best solution for treating |
| diagnosed with colon cancer is to surgically remove | | | | stage 3 colon cancer in the near future, and the |
| the parts of the large intestine that are affected and | | | | survival rate is increasing. |