Colon Cancer treatment in India

Treating Colon Cancer and its symptoms

The colon or rectum is found at the end of the digestive tract and cancer that begins here is termed colon cancer. While colon cancer is very common among adults, it can affect people of any age group. It starts as benign tumors or clumps of cells forming inside the colon. These are known as polyps. After some time, these benign clumps become cancerous ending in colon cancer. This is why regular screening is often prescribed by doctors to determine the growth of these polyps and if necessary to advise on the possible colon cancer treatment in India. When this combines with rectal cancer, it is called colorectal cancer and it starts in the rectum. From radiation therapies to surgery, there are multiple options for colon cancer treatment in India.

Signs or symptoms of colon cancer

Colon cancer treatment in India is determined after diagnosis of the various symptoms of the disease like:

• Any change in the stool’s consistency, or bowel habits like constipation or diarrhea.
• Blood in the stool or rectal bleeding.
• Pain, gas, or cramps that cause abdominal discomfort that doesn’t go away.
• Fatigue or persistent weakness
• Loss of weight without any cause or reason.

There are no symptoms generally during the early stages of the disease and with time, the symptoms occur and vary depending on the size and location of the infection in the colon. If you experience any of these symptoms persistently, then it is time to consult with your doctor for further tests and to decide on the best colon cancer treatment plan. As with other forms of cancer, this cancer is also a result of DNA level changes happening in the cells in the colon. These cancer cells can slowly grow and transfer to other parts of the body causing more concern with time. But we do not have information as yet on why these DNA changes occur or what triggers them.

Risks associated with colon cancer

1. It is found that colon cancer is more common among people above the age of 50 and hence aging is a huge risk factor for this type of cancer. There is no reason or cause on why this is so.
2. Compared to other races, Afro-Americans seem to be infected with colon cancer more.
3. If a person has had polyps or colon cancer earlier, then they have more chances of getting this cancer again.
4. Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic colon inflammatory diseases can also lead to possibly colon cancer in the future.
5. If a blood relative was affected by colon cancer, then there is a higher risk of the person getting the same.
6. Syndromes like FAP and Lynch syndrome can also cause genetic mutations that result in colon cancer in a person.
7. Low fiber diets and diets rich in high-fat content can also increase the chance of colon cancer in a person. There are also studies indicating that people who eat processed and red meat predominantly stand a higher risk.
8. A sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, obesity, usage of alcohol, and habit of smoking, can also lead to colon cancer.
9. If there was a previous session in radiation to treat any tumor in the abdomen, then there is a possibility of colon cancer.

Irrespective of the risk factors if a person has colon cancer, the doctor would proceed to recommend the right colon cancer treatment in India depending on the stage, and health condition of the individual. If there is a family history of colon cancer, then doctors suggest a preventive screening after the age of 45 for early detection. You can discuss with your doctor the various screening options and get the one that is most suitable for the condition.

Diagnosis and colon cancer treatment in India

If there are any signs or symptoms indicating the possibility of colon cancer, the doctor might recommend further tests to confirm it and to determine the different stages. Colonoscopy where a scope is sent through a tube into the colon to examine and if required extract samples for biopsies is one of the options suggested by doctors for diagnosing colon cancer. There aren’t any blood tests to confirm the presence of colon cancer but it is used for checking the overall health before suggesting the right colon cancer treatment in India. Colon cancer treatment in India will be different for every individual based on the location of cancer, cancer stage, overall health situation, etc. Doctors might recommend surgery or other therapies depending on the situation of every patient. For cancer that is at the early stage, and the tumor is removable, a minimally invasive procedure is suggested by doctors. Some of the minimally invasive surgery options are,

• Polypectomy where colonoscopy is used for removing the polyps. This is possible for localized tumors and is only in a polyp. In such cases, colonoscopy can be used to remove cancer.
• If the polyps are larger then the same can be removed along with a certain amount of inner lining from the colon. This is called endoscopic mucosal reaction.
• Laparoscopic surgery is for polyps that cannot be removed through colonoscopy. The doctor makes smaller incisions in the abdominal wall and inserts instruments with a camera through these incisions to perform the procedure.

In case of an advanced stage, the surgery to remove colon cancer would be,

• Removal of a part of the colon through partial colectomy where along with the affected part, some of the healthy tissues of the colon are removed. The remaining portions are generally reconnected and this can be performed through a laparoscopic procedure as well.
• Ostomy might be required if the healthy part of the colon and rectum cannot be connected, so that the waste can leave the body by opening a part of the abdominal wall. In some cases, an ostomy is temporary, and in some cases it is permanent.
• Removal of lymph nodes through surgery to check for cancer.
• Therapies involved in colon cancer treatment in India are, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, etc.

For more information about the different colon cancer treatments in India, get in touch with the doctor.