Read up on Colon and rectal cancer treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Colon and rectal cancer

Key points about treatments

Colon cancer and rectal cancer are kinds of cancer that grow in your intestines (also called your bowels). They are treatable and you have a good chance of being cured if the cancer hasn't spread outside the wall of your colon or rectum.

Colon cancer and rectal cancer are serious conditions, but there are good treatments. You might not get any symptoms to start with, so finding out that you have cancer can be a shock.

Surgery is the main treatment. When the cancer is caught early it can often be cured by surgery.

Key points about treating colon and rectal cancer

Your treatment will depend on how big your cancer is, whether it has spread, what it looks like under a microscope and how healthy you are.
About 9 in 10 people with this cancer can have surgery. For the other 1 in 10 people, their cancer has probably spread to other parts of their body, so surgery will not help them to live any longer.

Source:
Skibber JM, Minsky BD, Hoff PM.
Cancer of the colon.
In: DeVita VT Jr, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA (editors). Cancer of the colon. 6th edition. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; 2001.

¹
Many people worry that after surgery they'll need to wear a colostomy bag to collect their bowel movements. In fact, only 1 in 8 people with rectal cancer and very few people with colon cancer need a permanent

colostomy
A colostomy provides a way for food waste to safely leave your body if your rectum has been removed or if your colon and rectum aren't working properly. Your surgeon creates a new opening for your colon (usually on your belly) so that your feces can be collected in a bag called a colostomy bag.

colostomy.

Source:
American Cancer Society.
Colorectal cancer facts and figures: special edition 2005.
Available at http://www.cancer.org (accessed on 6 May 2009).

² (For more information, see Why would I need a colostomy? and Living with a colostomy.)
Chemotherapy after surgery can help you live longer but it has unpleasant side effects.
Radiation therapy before surgery for rectal cancer can reduce the chances that your cancer will come back. But radiation therapy has unpleasant side effects.
Seeing your doctor for follow-up checkups after your treatment may help detect whether your cancer has come back or spread to another part of your body.
If you have rectal cancer, an operation called total mesorectal excision may help you live longer. This surgery removes the part of your rectum that contains the cancer as well as the fatty tissue around your rectum.
If your cancer has spread, or has come back after treatment, there are newer chemotherapy drugs you may be able to try. To find out more, see Second-line chemotherapy drugs.

Sources for the information on this page:

Skibber JM, Minsky BD, Hoff PM.Cancer of the colon.In: DeVita VT Jr, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA (editors). Cancer of the colon. 6th edition. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; 2001.

American Cancer Society.Colorectal cancer facts and figures: special edition 2005.Available at http://www.cancer.org (accessed on 6 May 2009).

This information was last updated on May 08, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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