Ways of Treating Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer begins in the colon, the long tube that carries digested food to your rectum and out of your body. It develops when polyps grow in your colon’s inner lining. There are various screening tests that can detect precancerous growths before they become cancerous tumors. Sometimes colorectal cancer Houston may not show symptoms. The common symptoms of colorectal cancer include blood in your stool, abdominal pain, a bloated stomach, unexplained weight loss, and persistent changes in your bowel habits. Early stages of colorectal cancer are treatable. If untreated, it can spread to other body parts. There are many treatments for colorectal cancer, including
Surgery
Surgery is the primary treatment for colorectal cancer. There are various surgical options to treat colorectal cancer, which include:
Local excision
Local excision removes early cancerous tissues. The surgery involves your surgeon removing polyps and some colon tissue.
Colectomy
A colectomy involves your specialist removing some or your entire colon. If the surgery is partial, your surgeon reattaches the remaining segments. A total colectomy is less common, and surgeons may recommend it if you have many polyps.
Removing blockages
Sometimes a cancerous growth blocks all or a portion of your colon. Your specialist may place a stent to open the colon in such a case. If a stent does not work or the blockage is severe, your surgeon may perform a colectomy and connect one end of the remaining part of your colon into a stoma to allow stool flow.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy drugs help destroy cancerous cells throughout your body. This procedure can help treat cancer or shrink the tumor before surgery. It can also relieve symptoms in later colorectal stages. Chemotherapy can cause adverse effects because it affects both cancerous and healthy cells.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy involves taking drugs that target specific proteins to slow or prevent the growth of cancerous cells. The treatment has less severe effects than chemotherapy because the medications only target cancerous cells.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a drug-based treatment that helps your immune system detect and eliminate cancerous cells. It can be beneficial to patients with advanced colorectal cancer. An autoimmune reaction, where your body mistakenly attacks its cells, is a possible adverse effect.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy destroys cancer cells using high-energy radiation beams. Your doctor may suggest the treatment to help shrink a tumor before rectal cancer surgery. Doctors can also use it alongside chemotherapy, a technique known as chemoradiation.
Ablation
Ablation uses microwaves, radiofrequency, ethanol, or cryosurgery to destroy a tumor without removing it. Your surgeon delivers the therapy through a probe or needle guided by ultrasound or CT imagery.
Palliative and end-of-life-care
If your colorectal cancer reaches stage four, where it spreads to other organs, it is impossible to cure. Your doctor may include additional options like surgery to remove a blockage, pain relief, treatment for medication side effects, counseling, and radiation therapy or chemotherapy to reduce the tumor’s size.
Colorectal cancer develops when polyps grow in your colon’s inner lining. It is treatable in the early stage. Common colorectal cancer treatments include local excision, chemotherapy, colectomy, radiation therapy, target therapy, and palliative care. Schedule an appointment with Vikram S Jayanty, M.D., for colorectal cancer treatment to prevent it from spreading to other parts.