Colon cancer is a type of cancer that affects the colon, rectum and
appendix areas. Also called colorectal or large bowel cancer, it ranks
no. 3 among the common forms of cancers. As much as 655,500 people
die from colon cancer around the world every year, making it second
among other types of cancers in terms of mortality rate.
Like all types of cancers, colon cancer is caused by abnormal and
uncontrolled cell division within the body particularly in the colon and
rectum area. There are suggestions that colon cancer is caused by
adenomatous polyps that can be found in the colon area, organisms
which are originally benign but can potentially become malignant over
time.
Possible Causes of Colon Cancer
A diet that is high in fat is thought to be one of the possible causes of
colon cancer among people. Doctors theorize that carcinogens are
developed through the breakdown of fat metabolism in high-fat diets.
It is noted that countries that have high occurrence rates of colorectal
cancer have diets that are loaded with fat. That is why the western
part of the world have a higher occurrence rate compared to the
people in Asia.
Another theory regarding the development of cancer is the presence
of benign colon polyps. These polyps are created when chromosomes
are damaged in the inner lining of the colon. Since chromosomes are
known to control the growth of cells, damaged chromosomes can
cause uncontrollable growth and division which are believed to be the
origin of cancer.
Because polyps are born out of damaged chromosomes, it is linked
to the development of colon cancer.
Ulcerative colitis is also pointed as a possible origin of cancer of the
colon. Ulcerative colitis is described as an enlargement of the large
intestine, and is thought to develop into colon cancer when they
become complicated. When a person has ulcerative colitis for eight
to ten years, he or she is more at risk of developing colon cancer.
A persons risk of contracting colon cancer increases as a person gets
older. In fact, most people that contract colon cancers are in the 60
and 70 age groups. There are less occurrences in the age groups
of 50 and below.
Symptoms of Colon Cancer
Similar to other forms of cancer, colorectal cancer does not manifest
any sort of symptoms in its earlier levels making it difficult to diagnose
and treat. However, when it develops into more malignant states,
sufferers of colon cancer start to feel certain symptoms.
Some organizations propose that people undergo periodic screening
for colon cancer using fecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy.
These are some symptoms that warrant testing for possible colorectal
cancer:
1.Abrupt change in bowel habits including frequency, as well as
consistency and quality of stools.
2.Presence of blood in stools.
3.Presence of mucus in stools.
4.Defecation may feel incomplete after you finish.
5.A rare occurrence of obstruction in the bowels.
Anemia, anorexia, asthenia and unexplained weight loss are considered
constitutional symptoms of colon cancer.
