Cures for Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that affects the colon or rectum. People over 50 are more at risk for getting this type of cancer. Symptoms of the disease are blood in the stool or rectal bleeding; abdominal discomfort such as cramps, gas or pain; a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea and constipation; and unexplained weight loss. There is no cure for colorectal cancer, but it is treated in a number of ways, through surgery, chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy.

Stages

• The treatment that doctors recommend for patients with colorectal cancer depends on what stage the cancer is in, which is determined by whether it is present in only the colon or rectum or throughout the body. Other factors include the patient's health status and the recurrence of cancer.

Surgery

• To prevent colorectal cancer, doctors may use a procedure called a colonoscopy to remove polyps, or growths, which can cause cancer. For cancer in more advanced stages, physicians usually remove either a portion of or the entire colon. They may also take out lymph nodes and tissues that are located near the tumor. For cancer in the rectum, doctors will sometimes perform a colostomy, which is when they put in special bags to collect the body's waste, but this procedure is temporary. To relieve symptoms such as bleeding, doctors may perform palliative surgery, which is done to get rid of blockage in the colon.

Chemotherapy

• During chemotherapy, patients are given medications intravenously or through a catheter. Chemotherapy is often given to people with colon cancer in order to rid the body of cancerous cells that remain after patients undergo surgery. Chemotherapy is also used to relieve symptoms that people experience with colon cancer, such as abdominal discomfort, and to control tumor growth.

Radiation Therapy

• As a treatment of colorectal cancer, radiation therapy is used in conjunction with chemotherapy and surgery. This type of treatment uses x-rays to kill cancerous cells, shrink tumors and/or reduce symptoms of the disease, such as bleeding. Two types of radiation therapy that are used for this cancer are external beam therapy, where x-rays are directed toward the site of the tumor, and brachytherapy, where radioactive materials are placed inside the body.

Targeted Drug Therapy

• People who are in more advanced stages of colorectal cancer are sometimes given drugs such as bevacizumab, cetuximab and panitumumab. Bevacizumab is used to stop cancer from spreading to blood vessels, and cetuximab and panitumamab are used to prevent a chemical signal in the body that results in the reproduction of cancerous cells.