| 1. What is colon cancer? | | | | symptoms are: seeing blood in your bowels, |
| | | | alternation of diarrhea with constipation, |
| Cancer is a disease which can affect cells | | | | and low abdominal pains. |
| from all organs. The colon cancer affects the | | | | |
| cells of the colon, determining them to | | | | 5. How does the doctor know that I have |
| proliferate in an uncontrollable way. This | | | | cancer? |
| mass of abnormal cells will form a tumor | | | | |
| inside the colon. The cancer of the intestine | | | | The doctor will perform a sigmoidoscopy or a |
| is quite frequent and two thirds of this type | | | | colonoscopy to examine the insides of the |
| of cancer is situated in the colon. | | | | colon. Also x-rays of the colon will be |
| | | | performed. These methods will see if tumors |
| 2. Who can develop colon cancer? | | | | are present inside the colon. In order to |
| | | | stage colon cancer CT and ultrasound will be |
| You are at risk of developing colon cancer if | | | | used. |
| you drink a lot of alcohol and you are obese. | | | | |
| Also if other members of your family had | | | | 6. Can colon cancer be treated? |
| colon cancer or breast cancer you could | | | | |
| inherit some genes that make you more | | | | Generally the most indicated procedure in |
| sensible to cancer. If you have polyps on | | | | trying to treat colon cancer is surgery. By |
| your intestine and you leave them untreated | | | | surgery the doctors will remove the tumor |
| for a long time, they can transform into | | | | from the colon. If the cancer spread, giving |
| malign polyps, meaning that cancer had | | | | metastasis, the doctors will recommend you |
| occurred. | | | | chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These are hard |
| | | | bearable due to their side effects like |
| 3. Is my diet involved in cancer development? | | | | nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, fever, and |
| | | | tiredness. |
| Following a diet which is rich in fats and | | | | |
| proteins could expose you to cancer. If you | | | | 7. Is the treatment effective or not? |
| eat a lot of fruit, vegetables and high fiber | | | | |
| foods you can prevent colon cancer from | | | | If the colon cancer was diagnosed in its |
| occurring. | | | | early stages and it has not spread to other |
| | | | organs the treatment will be 90% effective |
| 4. Does colon cancer come with any symptoms? | | | | and patients will survive even five years |
| | | | after. If the cancer has given metastasis the |
| There are some symptoms which could announce | | | | treatment will not be so effective any more |
| that cancer is installing, but they also | | | | and half of the diagnosed patients will live |
| appear in other diseases. Some of the | | | | less that five years. |