Best Treatment for Colon Cancer - Cancer Hospital in India

Colon Cancer Overview

The human colon, or large intestine, is a muscular, tube-shaped organ measuring about 4 feet long. It extends from the end of your small bowel to your anus. Typically the first or right portion of the colon which is called the ascending colon moves up from the lower right portion of the abdomen. The next portion, or transverse colon, moves across from the right to the left side of the upper abdomen. Next, the 3rd region or descending colon moves down the left side of your abdomen. Then an S shaped or sigmoid colon portion connects the rest of the colon to the rectum which ends at the anus. The colon has 3 main functions:

• To digest and absorb nutrients from food
• To concentrate fecal material by absorbing fluid (and dissolved salts, also called electrolytes) from it
• To store and control evacuation of fecal material

The right side of your colon plays a major role in absorbing water and electrolytes, while the left side is responsible for storage and evacuation of stool.

Cancer is the transformation of normal cells. The transformed cells grow and multiply abnormally.

• Left untreated, these cancers grow and eventually spread through the colon wall to involve the adjacent lymph nodes and organs. Ultimately, they spread to distant organs such as the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.
• Cancers are dangerous because of their unbridled growth and potential for spread. They overwhelm healthy cells, tissues, and organs by taking their oxygen, nutrients, and space.
• Most colon cancers are adenocarcinomas-tumors that develop from the glands lining the colon's inner wall.
• These cancers, or malignant tumors, are sometimes referred to as colorectal cancer, reflecting the fact that the rectum, the end portion of the colon, can also be affected. Anatomic differences in the rectum as compared to the rest of the colon require that these areas be separately recognized.
  

  Colon Cancer Treatment in India

Surgery
If the cancer is small, localized in a polyp and in a very early stage, the doctor may be able to remove it completely during a colonoscopy. Larger polyps may be removed using endoscopic mucosal resection. If the pathologist determines that it’s likely that the cancer was completely removed, there may be no need for additional treatment. Polyps that can’t be removed during colonoscopy may be removed using laparoscopic surgery. 

Surgery for Invasive Colon Cancer

If the colon cancer has grown into or through the colon, the surgeon may recommend a partial colectomy to remove the part of colon that contains the cancer, along with a margin of normal tissue on either side of the cancer. Nearby lymph nodes are usually also removed and tested for cancer. The surgeon is often able to reconnect the healthy portions of colon or rectum. But when that’s not possible, for instance if the cancer is at the outlet of rectum, the patient may need a permanent or temporary colostomy. This involves creating an opening in the abdomen wall from a portion of the remaining bowel for the elimination of body waste into a special bag. Sometimes the colostomy is only temporary, allowing the colon or rectum time to heal after surgery. In some cases, however, the colostomy may be permanent.

Surgery for Advanced Cancer
If the cancer is very advanced or the overall health is very poor, the surgeon may recommend an operation to relieve a blockage of the colon or other conditions in order to improve symptoms. This surgery isn’t done to cure cancer, but instead to relieve signs and symptoms, such as bleeding and pain. In specific cases where the cancer has spread only to the liver and if the overall health is otherwise good, the doctor may recommend surgery to remove the cancerous lesion from liver. Chemotherapy may be used before or after this type of surgery.

Chemotherapy    
Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy for colon cancer is usually given after surgery if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. In this way, chemotherapy may help reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses powerful energy sources, such as X-rays, to kill cancer cells that might remain after surgery, to shrink large tumors before an operation so that they can be removed more easily, or to relieve symptoms of colon cancer and rectal cancer. 

Targeted Therapy
Drugs that target specific defects that allow cancer cells to grow are available to people with advanced colon cancer. Targeted drugs can be given along with chemotherapy or alone. Targeted drugs are typically reserved for people with advanced colon cancer.