what are the symptoms ?
Cancer - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
death?
2 :
Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. It is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Colorectal cancer causes 655,000 deaths worldwide per year. Many colorectal cancers are thought to arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-like growths are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time. The majority of the time, the diagnosis of localized colon cancer is through colonoscopy. Therapy is usually through surgery, which in many cases is followed by chemotherapy. Colon cancer often causes no symptoms until it has reached a relatively advanced stage. Thus, many organizations recommend periodic screening for the disease with fecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy. When symptoms do occur, they depend on the site of the lesion. Generally speaking, the nearer the lesion is to the anus, the more bowel symptoms there will be, such as: - Change in bowel habits - Change in frequency (constipation and/or diarrhea), - Change in the quality of stools - Change in consistency of stools - Bloody stools or rectal bleeding - Stools with mucus - Tarry stools (melena) (more likely related to upper gastrointestinal eg stomach or duodenal disease) - Feeling of incomplete defecation (tenesmus) (usually associated with rectal cancer) - Reduction in diameter of feces - Bowel obstruction (rare) Constitutional symptoms: Especially in the cases of cancer in the ascending colon, sometimes only the less specific constitutional symptoms will be found: - Anemia, with symptoms such as dizziness, malaise and palpitations. Clinically there will be pallor and a complete blood picture will confirm the low hemoglobin level. - Anorexia - Asthenia, weakness - Unexplained weight loss. Metastatic symptoms: There may also be symptoms attributed to distant metastasis: - Shortness of breath as in lung metastasis - Epigastric or right upper quadrant pain, as in liver metastasis. Rarely there can be jaundice if the outflow of pile is blocked. Clinically there might be liver enlargement
Read more discussions :
- How long can someone live w/ Colon Cancer
- How does a colon cancer screening work
- Which is the best hospital for treating colon canc...
- Is this colon cancer at age 16 for a male
- What is the youngest age a female can get colon ca...
- Hi I need help on how to make a power point slide ...
- How can I find out if I have inherited the gene fo...
- A friend of mine just got operated on for stage 3 ...
