Colorectal Cancer

The large intestine is the last organ of the digestive system in the human body. It turns in the shape of a half-moon with its opening facing down in the abdomen and allows the digested and residual food to be thrown out in the form of feces. It is divided into two parts as colon and rectum in Latin. The part called the colon is divided into parts starting from the right (right) colon, transverse (transverse) colon, descending (left) colon and sigmoid colon. The rectum, on the other hand, is the last part of the large intestine where the feces is kept before being discharged. The feces is then ejected through the anus.

How and Where is the Colorectal Cancer Seen?

Colorectal cancers are more common in the left part of the large intestine, rectum, sigmoid and descending colon.  It is more common in males.Usually, small polyps appear first on the inner wall of the intestine, which can enlarge over time and become tumors.  There are different types of polyps and the frequency of their transformation into cancer varies.  In other words, some polyps have less risk and some polyps have much more risk to turn into cancer.After all, once polyps begin to emerge, we have a chance to catch cancer early or before it ever occurs. As long as it is not neglected and late!

Am I in the risk group?

Colorectal cancer is more common over the age of 50.It is more common in people with a family history of colorectal cancer, previous breast cancer or uterine cancer, and those with genetic diseases related to colorectal polyps. The most common cause is the presence of polyps in the intestine. The presence of inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, smoking, and eating insufficient amount of vegetables and foods rich in protein are factors that increase the risk.

Can I prevent cancer from developing?

Actually it is partly possible, only a little caution is required. Colorectal cancer is one of the cancers that give the person time before it occurs. It is necessary to be very careful, especially after the age of 50, or even after the age of 40 if there is a family history of bowel cancer. In these age groups, even if there is no complaint, a colonoscopy procedure, in which the intestine is examined by entering a camera from the anus, should be performed, and then it should be repeated every 5 years even if there is no problem. Methods such as fecal occult blood test and looking for tumor markers from the blood are not very valuable in the diagnosis of the disease. They can easily cause mistakes and significant time loss.

I have occasional bleeding due to my hemorrhoids; can I also have cancer?

This does not mean you have cancer, but it requires you to be careful. The most important symptom of colorectal cancer is bleeding from the anus. Especially in older male patients and in female patients in the post-menopausal period, blood flow from the anus and low blood levels in blood tests are suspicious. Rectal bleeding can be seen for many different reasons other than these diseases. Therefore, in such a situation, colonoscopy should be performed without delay and one should be sure that there is no cancer.

What is the treatment for colorectal cancer?

When colorectal cancer is diagnosed in a patient, the stage of the disease should be determined first. According to this staging, the disease can be treated very simply by colonoscopy, and further treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be required at later stages. . Surgical treatment of colorectal cancer can be performed either as closed (laparoscopic) or by open surgery or robotic surgery. You can decide on the most appropriate treatment method by talking with your surgeon.

How will my life change after bowel cancer?

This varies according to the stage of your disease and the treatment method performed. There is not much change in your life in cancer that was diagnosed early and resected with a successful surgical treatment. With regular oncological and surgical follow-up controls, you can continue your life without any problems.  In cases where the tumor cannot be removed in advanced stage cancers or depending on the surgical technique applied in rectal tumors, surgical methods (colostomy) can be applied where the intestine is mouthed to the abdominal wall permanently or temporarily.