Rome wasn’t built in a day, it’s a maxim we hear often when we grow impatient waiting for positive results of change. When we decide to lost weight, we want twenty pounds to disappear immediately, and when we are hired for a new job we expect promotions and raises soon afterward. In truth, perfection and happiness can take time, and work, and this holds true for people changing bad habits to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Think about your current lifestyle, is it conducive to good health? Do you worry that you might be at risk for cancer or other related diseases of the lower intestine? If so, now is an excellent time to take steps to reduce the chance of illness. You might think you are too old to change, or maybe that you’re young enough now that you have time to indulge, but where cancer is concerned no age is off limits. The sooner you take that first step, the more improvement you bring to the way you live. Five simple things can be done to decrease the odds of developing colon cancer.

1) Quit Smoking – Toxic cigarette smoke doesn’t just damage the lungs and make your clothes smell terrible. Every time you puff, you’re sending carcinogens down to your colon, which isn’t healthy. If you don’t smoke, wonderful – don’t start. If you do, however, quitting now reduces the risk of further damage to your large intestine.

2) Improve Your Diet – Did you know having a bowl of unbuttered popcorn instead of a sugary snack can improve your colon’s health? Introducing higher fiber foods into your diet promotes better digestion and elimination of wastes, and thereby keeping the colon strong and functioning well.

3) Go for a Walk – Exercise is good for every part of the body, and the more you do the better the chance of weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk of colon disease.

4) Talk to Your Family – You may be genetically disposed to certain cancers. Find out who in your immediate family has had problems and determine if you are also at risk.

5) Call the Doctor if You Don’t Feel Well – If something looks unusual, feels painful, don’t wait it out. Some early signs of cancer may not look too serious, but can cause big problems in the future.

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A prognosis is the prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disease. When a person has colon cancer, he or she may ask about his or her colon cancer prognosis so the future can be planned accordingly.

The prognosis is based on a number of factors like the type and location of the cancer and the stage it was detected. Other factors that may affect it are the patient’s age, response to treatment, and general health. Before a doctor can come up with a prognosis, he will review statistics from other cases and focus especially on survival rates. This may be helpful in giving the patient the idea of what is likely to happen in his or her condition. However, it is important to remember that a prognosis is only a prediction based on the current facts available. No doctor, however good he is, can say for certain what exactly is going to happen to a patient.

Why is it important for a person to know about his or her colon cancer prognosis?

· To plan for treatment – If treatment is an option, there are many things that the patient and the family should consider. They have to decide on which hospital they would go to (preferably one that’s near their house) and how much they are going to spend. They also have to make a tentative schedule and decide who could go with the patient on tentative treatment dates.

· To plan for lifestyle changes – What are the necessary steps to take to maintain a healthier body? How could the patient be taken care of? These questions must be answered to be able to help the patient cope with his or her illness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_J_Bruton

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Colon cancer is a dangerous form of cancer that starts in the colon, and then if nothing is done to treat it, it will start to spread. The causes of colon cancer have not been discovered yet, but scientists are researching its causes and new treatments that can help cure colon cancer and metastatic colon cancer.

The colon and the rectum for the large intestine. First, a tumor appears in the colon or sometimes in the rectum, and then it starts to grow, and the cancerous tissue spreads. In time it can reach other organs, such as the liver or the lungs.

In its early phases colon cancer can be treated quite easily, and the survival rate for patients diagnosed with stage 2 or 3 colon cancer is over 80%. However, if the cancer advances to the third or fourth stage, it will be really hard to cure it, the survival rate drops under 10%, but there still is hope.

This is why it is important to learn the signs and symptoms of colon cancer, and detect them early in order to start the treatment as soon as possible. The problem is that stage 1 or 2 colon cancer has almost no symptoms at all, and it’s hard to detect this disease until it has already advanced too much.

These are the common symptoms that may indicate an early colon cancer or a high risk of developing colon cancer:

-stool that contains small amounts of blood
-bleeding from the anus, which appears more rarely, and may just be a coincidence, but it can also be a sign

If colon cancer has advanced, then many symptoms appear. The most commonly encountered ones are:

-pain in the abdomen

-vomiting and nausea

-larger amount of blood in the stool

-change in bowel habits

-sudden weight loss

-thin stool

-stomach cramps

-diarrhea

-fatigue or tiredness

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above then immediately consult a doctor. Some of them can be cause by other affections, but in either case it’s important to seek medical attention. The doctors will perform some tests and clinical trials which will determine if you have or haven’t got colon cancer,and how far has it spread.

If it has not spread much then it can easily be treated with a colon cancer surgery, that removes the parts of the large intestine where tumors are.
A stage IV colon cancer diagnose is a very bad news, and it will probably change your life, but remember that there still is hope.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Groshan_Fabiola

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Cancer is a killer. Colon cancer is the second most fatal of all cancers – but it doesn’t have to be! Cancer of the colon is a preventable disease that affects both men and women 50 or older. It is easily detected in all stages – even before it becomes cancerous!

Regular annual testing can detect abnormal cells in the colon and prevent cancer from starting. Here are the most common colon cancer tests. Talk with your doctor about these tests.

Fecal Occult Blood Tests (FOBT). This is the most common and easiest test for cancer of the colon. This tests looks for blood in the stool, which may indicate colon cancer. If blood is found, the doctor may order a colonoscopy.

Here’s how the test works. Your doctor will give you a testing kit which you will take home. At home you smear a small piece of stool from your bowel movement on a card. Repeat up to three different times – your kit will have specific instructions. The cards are sent to a lab for testing. Some kits include the mailing packets so you can send the test straight from your home.

Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). This is a home test, like the FOBT. You will get a kit from your doctor and put a small sample of your stool on the card. Repeat up to three times – follow the instructions in the kit. Cards are sent to the lab for testing and the results will be sent to your doctor’s office. This test also looks for blood in the stool like the FOBT. If abnormal results are found, a colonoscopy may be ordered.

Sigmoidoscopy. In this test a doctor will use a small lighted tube which allows him to look inside the rectum and lower colon. The doctor is looking for abnormal growths in the colon, such as a polyp, which may indicate colon cancer. If a polyp is found, the doctor will take a small sample of tissue from it and test for cancer. A colonoscopy may be ordered after this if abnormal results are found.

A colonoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the entire colon instead of only the lower third of the colon.

Barium enema. In this test, an x-ray is taken of the rectum and colon after a special barium enema is given. The barium is used to make it easier for doctors to view the x-ray and any abnormalities in it. If an abnormal growth is found, a sample of the tissue is taken and tested. A colonoscopy may be ordered if abnormal results are found in the tissue sample.

Your health care provider is the best person to decide which test is the best one for you. Talk with your doctor about your testing options! The FOBT and FIT tests can be performed every year. Combinations of tests may be ordered by your doctor.

If you are 50 or older, then you should be tested annually. If you have a family history of colon cancer, regardless of your age, you may need to be tested regularly. Certain medical conditions may require that you be regularly tested before the age of 50.

Talk with your doctor about colon cancer testing. A simple test could save your life!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Ling

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Cancer is the name for a disease that can affect cells from all the organs and body’s structures and is considered to be life threatening. The colon and rectum are a part of the large intestine and their function is to absorb nutrients and water from the food that passes through the intestine before it goes out of the body. Colorectal cancer is the disease that affects the cells from the colon and rectum creating a malign or benign tumor.

Treatment is possible for those who suffer of colon cancer. The treatment is based of three procedures: surgery, using radiations, and chemotherapy.

Generally the colon cancer is treated with surgery and this depends on the stage of the cancer. If the cancer is in an early stage then the doctor will take the tumor out by putting a tube that passes the rectum until it reaches the colon and only then cutting the tumor. This means that the doctor performs a local excision when the cancer is localized on a polyp than the procedure will be classified as a polypectomy. If the cancer is in a more advanced stage the doctor will have to cut that tumor out along with a part of the healthy colon. Then the two parts of healthy colon will be sewed together. The lymph nodes around the affected area will also be removed and analyzed at the microscope.

Sometimes the doctor can not sew the two heads of the colon and will be forced to make a hole on the surface of the body in order to create another anus, also known as a colostomy. This second anus will not be kept forever, it will be kept until the colon heals and can be sewed back. Sometimes if the situation is bad and the colon can not be saved, this colostomy will be permanent. The patient will further need a special bag made for collecting the body wastes. These bags are only for one use and are not able to be seen due to clothing and are easy to replace even by the patient.

Another procedure to treat cancer is radiotherapy. This therapy uses x-rays for killing cancerous cells and making the tumor stop its evolution and even shrink. Radiation therapy can be performed by special machines situated near the body and by special tubes that contain radioactive material and are placed inside the body near the intestines. The radiation therapy can be combined with surgery and other procedures for treating cancer.

Chemotherapy is also used in treating cancer. Chemotherapy uses pills or substances that go by vein in the organism. As these drugs travel the blood stream and can kill cancerous cell all over the body the chemotherapy is known to as a systemic therapy. Chemotherapy can be associated with surgery. While the surgeon removes the tumors that can be seen with by a naked eye, chemotherapy destroys those small cells that the surgeon can not remove.

Also, biological therapy can be used as it increases the forces of the organism to fight cancer and will help the body increase its defenses.

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