Colon, the longest part of the large intestine helps to remove nutrients and water, from the digested food, in the form of stools from our body. Polyps in colon, ulcerative colitis or a history of colon, rectum or ovary cancer is known to cause colon cancer in the human body. Patients suffering from colon cancer complain of blood in stool, change in bowel habits, narrower stools and frequent gas pains. If such symptoms are observed then the medical history of the patient is checked first and then the patient is told to bring digital rectal exam, fecal occult blood test, biopsy, CT scan, lymph node biopsy, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) assay, PET scan and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)scan reports to confirm the occurrence of colon cancer in the patient.

There are different options of treatment for colon cancer. These include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy. All these options of treatment for cancer are effective and relieve the patient from colon cancer, if detected in early stages.

Surgery for Colon Cancer Treatment

There are different types of surgery to treat colon cancer. A few of them are discussed here.

• Local Excision: In this method, a tube is inserted inside the rectum, into the colon, and the cancer is removed. This type of surgery is only opted when colon cancer is detected in its early stages.

• Polypectomy: Polypectomy is performed when the cancer is found in the polyp. Polyp is a condition where a tissue is observed to have grown abnormally. In this case, this tissue is found in the colon.

• Partial Colectomy: In this method, the cancerous tissue along with the surrounding healthy tissue is removed surgically. Partial colectomy is generally follwed by anastomosis, where the healthy tissues of the colon, which have not been removed, are sewed. In some cases, the nearby lymph nodes are also removed, if the cancer is observed to have spread in that region.

• Colonoscopy: In this method, a small tube, which is flexible, is inserted inside the colon to remove the cancerous cells. This method is only done when the small cancerous cells are present inside the colon.

• Radiofrequency Ablation: In this method, a probe with small electrodes is inserted inside the colon. This probe is either inserted through an insertion made in the abdomen, or directly through the skin, after giving anesthesia to the patient.

• Cryosurgery: In this method, the colon is freezed and the cancerous cells are killed in situ.

• Laparoscopy: In this method, the cancerous cells are removed by placing a small tube inside the abdomen.

• Open Surgery: In this method, an incision is made through the abdomen to remove the cancerous cell. A few healthy cells are also removed in this process.

Radiation Therapy for Colon Cancer Treatment

Radiation therapy is mostly given before surgery to shrink the cancerous cells in the patient’s body. In this method, the affected area is exposed to high energy radiations. As the cancerous cells are sensitive towards these radiations, they are killed once exposed. It can be given externally as well as internally. The way it is given depends on the extent to which the cancerous cells are spread inside the patient’s body.

Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy is mostly given in the form of pills or through injections. It involves the combination of different drugs to kill the cancerous cells present in the colon. These drugs reach the cancerous cells through the bloodstream and then kill the cancerous cells. Sometimes chemotherapy can be administered by placing certain drugs into the cerebrospinal fluid or abdomen of the patient. If the cancer has spread to the liver then combinations of the drugs are used in such a way that they will block the hepatic artery. Once this is done, the blood supply to the liver is blocked and the cancerous cells do not receive their fuel, and thus die. This blockage is temporary, and the liver receives some blood through the hepatic portal vein.

Targeted Therapy for Colon Cancer Treatment

Targeted therapy is usually given when the patient’s body does not respond to any other form of treatment for colon cancer. In targeted therapy drug in the form of monoclonal antibody is mostly administered intravenously inside the patient’s body. This monoclonal antibody stops the functioning of the protein that is responsible for the growth of the cancerous cells in the colon.

These were the options of treatment for colon cancer. These options are not that aggressive and are effective when the cancer is detected in its early stages.