People from all around the world have to be aware of colon cancer symptoms, diagnosis and treatment because of the fact that we are talking about one of the really common cancer types at the moment. It would be a shame to end up with a really life-threatening condition because it didn’t get diagnosed in time.
The really common symptoms of colon cancer include the following:
- Rectum bleeding that is usually accommodated with stool blood. So many make the mistake of thinking that the symptom is associated with hemorrhoids. Getting checked by a doctor is always necessary when rectum bleeding appears.
- Black or terry stool that is regularly observed. The problem is that in many cases it is impossible to realize that blood is present in stool as we have a tumor that is located farther away inside the colon. Blood thus ends up digested and will cause a blacker stool color.
- Blood low hemoglobin levels. This indicates bleeding present inside the body.
- Consciousness loss, fatigue, a persistent weight loss and dizziness that keeps appearing.
- Constipation and diarrhea.
- Bowel obstruction that normally develops only when tumor is already quite large. It is impossible not to notice such a situation and getting really fast treatment is vital.
Treatment And Diagnosis
Before the colon cancer is diagnosed, the doctor will recommend different medical tests and analyses. That can include:
- FOBT – Fecal Occult Blood Testing
- Stool, blood and urine tests
- Physical exam
- Rectal exam
- Colonoscopy – this is normally obligatory in order to diagnose colon cancer
- Computer tomography colonography
- Flexible sigmoidoscopy
- X-Ray
The great news is that when you are diagnosed on time the colon cancer can be treated with the use of various different methods. Some are more effective than others, based on the situation you are in. The most common colon cancer treatments these days are the following:
- Removing the affected colon part through surgery.
- Chemotherapy – this does follow surgery or might not, based on patient situation.
- Temporary or permanent colostomy if there is a colorectal disease type.
- Radioactive treatment – this can include surgery but not in all cases. It is particularly common when the patient is suffering from rental cancer.
Doctors will obviously do everything that they can in order to help the patients to get rid of this rather nasty condition. Cancer treatment does involve pretty invasive methods and it is possible that you would need to go through a truly life-changing procedure. It is normally a very good idea to set up a schedule that involves yearly meetings with the oncologist. Various tests can be done regularly in order to basically identify the appearance of colon cancer as soon as possible.
The good news is that we now know a lot more about colon cancer than what we knew years ago. If the condition is diagnosed in time, there is a huge possibility that you are going to be able to fight cancer. However, just as with all cancer types, if you do not get diagnosed in time, the situation can become pretty bad for the sufferer.