The main roles of the colon are the absorption of water and electrolytes in the proximal half and the depositing feces to eliminate them in middle distance. Because of these roles, movements in the colon are slow. These movements have two types: mixed and propellant. Colon irritations are intense and they are stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, thing that can initiate intensive mass movements.
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Epidemiological studies have tried to establish links between the incidence of colon cancer and geographical factors, dietary factors, relations with polyps, familial nature of some cancers or blood lost. The radiologist must know and must be able to recognize the concentration of these factors in a given case, in order to give a proper diagnostic and discover the smallest accidents or protrusions of colic mucosa.



A patient can notice mucous and blood in the stools for several weeks before thinking that something is wrong and going to the doctor. This happens in some cases because there is no pain associated with this symptom. So, mucus covered bowel movement and colon cancer can be developed. That is one of the symptoms that can tell you that you need to have a medical check.

However, a certain amount of mucus is regularly present in normal stools of healthy persons too. Although, the mucus can be present in the stool when a patient has hemorrhoids or intestinal parasites, mucus in stools may be sometimes the only symptoms in small or large intestinal polyps or cancer. The thing is that you have to be very careful about mucus covered bowel movement and colon cancer. It may not be very alarming at first but it can be the best change to detect the cancer before it develops and spreads to other parts of the body.



This has a big influence because the contraction of the colon muscles and the movement of the elements that it contains are made through nerves, impulses in colon or hormones control. This movement causes also the moving in the colon of the elements that were left after the digest made by the digestive system. In this process, water and some of the nutrients are absorbed in the body, while the other elements, called residues are left is the stool to be then eliminated. This is a normal process that happens in every normal body. Every day the contractions send the stool trough the colon determines a bowel movement. However, if the muscles do not contract, or if they do so, it is in the wrong way, the elements that are inside the colon do not move correctly. In these cases abdominal pain, constipation, or a sensation of incomplete stool movement can be present. It is necessary that the mucus be eliminated through a natural way, instead of forcing this process, because the body tends to restore it anyway.

Screening means detecting the disease before its clinical signs appear, and this is particularly important because early diagnosis offers the opportunity to a favorable prognosis. Once symptoms appear, it is likely that the tumor has already spread to neighboring organs or has created distant metastases.
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Many medical studies have been performed to identify the factors that may be considered risk factors for colorectal cancers. This information helps doctors choose people who should take screening tests. Screening is useful for those who do not have clinical signs of colon cancer. Taking the colon cancer screening does not mean that a positive diagnoses will be necessarily made. However, screening tests should be repeated at a certain period of time. If the screening test result is abnormal, some investigations are needed to confirm the diagnosis of colon cancer tumors.

The tests used in colon cancer screening can be extremely useful for the early diagnosis of the tumor, which also implies a favorable prognosis and a low rate of recurrence. Anyway, none of the medical studies have shown that screening tests can reduce the risk of death from cancer. Specialists are trying to find out through various medical studies the exact usefulness of cancer screening tests, as well as the benefits and the risks that the screening implies. Medical studies have proven also that the early detection really lowers the death rate from cancer.

Screening for colon cancer can have many forms. The colonoscopy is one of the colon cancer tests that provide the possibility of examining the colon using a flexible tube. Because there is a camera and a light tied on the end of the tube, the doctor can see inside the patients body through the imagines that are projected on a computer tied to the camera. Through this intervention, a biopsy sample can also be taken. The sigmoidoscopy is another test used for colon cancer detection. The doctor looks inside the patients’ body using a tube with a lens and a light source on the end. Though the tube, the doctor can see if tumors, abnormal growths or cancers have been developed by the patient. Another screening test is the barium enema, a special type of X-ray that uses barium sulfate and air to outline the lining of the rectum and colon, which provides the possibility to see if abnormal growths have been developed inside the individual body.

Regardless of the type of test used, colon cancer screening is in some cases crucial for the disease detection and cure. If you know that some of the risk factors that cause the cancer development were present, and if you are over 50 years old, you have to take the screening test on the periods recommended by your doctor.

Colon cancer is one of the deaths leading causes for cancer patients in both United States, in Japan and in Europe. Colon cancer is a disease that can be formed in the colon or rectum and that affects both men and women, usually over 50 years old.
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This disease is easier to treat if it is diagnosed in the first stage, and very difficult to cure if it is diagnosed in the last stage. But what are the stages of colon cancer?



Colon cancer, like other types of cancers has five stages that are established according to the tumor evolution. Stage zero is the earliest one, the stage in which the cancer is forming. In stage zero, the tumor has not left it’s original place, the innermost lining of the colon. In stage one, the tumor has extended and it has passed the innermost layer to the middle layers of the colon. From there the tumor continues evolving and so in stage two it passes the middle layers of the colon. In stage three colon cancer affects at least three lymph nodes, while in stage four the tumor spreads to other parts of the body and affects the liver, the lung or even the brains.

So, the first stages of colon cancer correspond to the forming of the tumors, while the last ones to its spread. Colon cancer stage four is the most advanced one, the stage in which the tumor is the most difficult to cure. In stage three the disease starts spreading, but is only affects nearby tissues and organs. In stage four it can affect far way organs such as the brain, although the situation is not very common.



The disease treatments depend on what are the stages of colon cancer diagnoses. In the first stages, form zero to two, the treatment is based on surgical interventions. In the last two stages, surgery is performed also, but the operation may not be possible. However, chemotherapy and radiation therapies are also applied. Although, in stage three and four the cancers can still be cured in many situations, the chances for treatment to work are very low and this mostly happens in stage four, when the disease can cause the patients death.

So, colon cancer stages show the general evolution of the disease and if it has spread or not and as, we can see, in colon cancer last stages, the disease usually spreads. In general, stage three and four colon cancer survival rates are not very optimistic. However, this does not mean that there are no chances for patients diagnosed in one of these stages. Treatment can actually work and the tumors can stop their growth and they can also withdraw.

Colon cancer has for a period of time, after it has been developed by a patient, no symptoms. This happens for about six to twelve month, period in which the cancer can evolve form the first stage, to the last one. Although there is not a colon cancer single cause that can determine the disease, there are many risk factors that can contribute to the disease development. The early diagnosis of colon cancer is very important and that is way you have to be very careful about the risk factors and the colon cancer causes.
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So, symptoms may not be clear at the beginnings of the disease. They may include constipation, diarrhea, the alternation between the two of them, some associated pain, weakness or the loose of blood in the stools. However, one of the first signs of colon cancer is the excessive gas.

Gas and bloating can result from many things like swallowing too much air or eating too much sugar, starches or fiber, which is way when this occurs, people do not think that something may not be in order. Besides colon cancer, excessive gas and bloating can be a sign of intestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome.

Excessive gas is a sign of colon cancer, maybe one of the first symptoms that may occur on a patient. In some cases the tumor created by the cancer causes the bowel blocking. This is how gas can be obstructed form passing by. The excessive gas and bloating can also be a sign that the colon cancer has grown. Even if the tumors created by the cancer are not large enough to cause a blockage of the bowel, stools can be held because of the tumor. That is way in many cases the excessive gas is associated with constipation.

Bloating occurs when the air is trapped by the bowel blocking. In this case stomach cramping and a clear decrease of the number of times you pass gas will happen. Many people are diagnosed with colon cancer after they had a bowel obstruction manifested by excessive gas and bloating. So, if you have chronic gas and bloating you should have a medical check as soon as possible.

Colon cancer symptoms tend to be hidden in the first stage of the disease. Some of the symptoms can be associated with other diseases, such as bowel infections or hemorrhoids. In fact most colon cancer patients think they have hemorrhoids when they actually have developed a cancerous tumor. The same thing happens with chronic gas. Excessive gas is a sign of colon cancer in many cases and that is way it should not be ignored and treated at home without a diagnoses made by a doctor.

Colon cancer is one of the diseases that cause many deaths every year. But this does not happen because the disease can not be cured. If the diagnosis is made in the first stage of colon cancer evolution, it can be cured easily. However, because in most cases the symptoms of colon cancer are not present, the diagnosis is made when the cancer is very advanced and treatment can not work anymore.
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Beside surgical interventions, when possible, the colon cancer treatment involves also chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the administration of different types of drugs, which are very powerful. These dugs can stop the cancer spread or they can actually make the disease withdraw. Although there is not a colon cancer medicine that can cure the disease, the administration of some drugs combined can have a very good effect on these patients. Fusilev or Levoleucovorin are one of the drugs that are administrated in colon cancer patients.



Levoleucovorin was the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008. Levoleucovorin is a novel folate analog formulation and the pharmacologically active isomer of calcium leucovorin. Fusilev is also a novel folate analog. It is the pharmacologically active isomer of leucovorin. Fusilev administration is recommended after high-dose methotrexate therapy. Fusilev is also indicated to diminish the toxicity and counteract the effects of impaired methotrexate elimination and of inadequate overdosage of folic acid antagonists.

These drugs can be administrated in colon cancer treatment through chemotherapy. They do not cure the cancer, but they can reduce the side effects of other powerful drugs administrated with the purpose to reduce the cancerous tumors. Because the drugs taken by colon cancer patients are very strong, they have many side effects, some of them with long term influences. Fusilev and colon cancer treatment can be used together to reduce those side effects because of the content of this medicine.



Fusilev in colon cancer treatment has been approved and it’s efficiency recognized. However, the use of oral leucovorin may be limited by the large number of tablets needed and by the fact that oral absorption of leucovorin is saturable and highly variable. Because in colon cancer cure there is not a single medicine that can provide a patient the well been, many different drugs are administrated. Because some combinations are more powerful than others and because some patients are stronger than others, the disease can withdraw or in some cases it can continue growing. This is way, surgery is one of the most applicable treatments in colon cancer patients, because through surgery tumors in affected parts of the body can be removed, while through chemotherapy there is no guaranty that the tumor will get smaller or actually bigger.

Colon cancer is one of the most treatable kinds of cancers. Colon cancer is primarily a hereditary disease. Nowadays, it is one of the most common diseases that affect equally both men and women, aged over 50 and 60 years, but these people are not the only ones affected. Many young people are diagnosed with colon cancer too. However, if detected early, the disease is treatable.
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Prevention is the first step in curing colon cancer and knowing the risk factors of the disease the best chance to detect it before it becomes a real problem. Because the symptoms of colon cancer appear only when the disease is already in an advanced stage, and chances of cure are very low, you have to be extra careful about any sign that may tell you that something is wrong. If someone in your family had colon cancer the risk of developing the disease is higher for you, because colon cancer seems to be a hereditary disease.



If you want to reduce your chances in developing colon cancer, you should have a healthy diet, a balanced and rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber diet. You should quit smoking also. Another risk factor it the inflammations of the digestive tract. Lack of exercise should be replaced with regular exercises in fresh air. Diet high in fat should be completely avoided, as well as heavy drinking.

If smoking is considered a risk factor in developing colon cancer, what about passive smoking. Second hand smoke is a colon cancer risk but not a primary one. If in lung cancer cases, the passive smoke is considered a risk factor almost as important as the active smoking, in colon cancer some researchers consider that second hand smoking alone can not determine the disease development. However, it is a risk factor, because after many years of being a subject of passive smoking, your lungs may look the same as the lungs of a smoker.



Second hand smoke as a colon cancer risk should not be ignored. The fact about colon cancer is that there is not a single cause, or a group of causes that determine the disease. This is way passive smoking with an unhealthy diet and the lack of regular exercises can increase the risk of developing colon cancer. In general, pollution is one of the colon cancer causes, although the exact influence of this risk factor has not been established. Second hand smoke and colon cancer risks should be avoided as much as possible because although the disease is not difficult to treat if discovered early, the absence of symptoms makes that most colon cancer cases are diagnosed in last stages, when the disease has already spread in the patients’ body.

Colonoscopy is the method that with endo-light explores in the real image, the anal area, the rectum and the sigmoid, with the ability to check the area by descending, transverse and ascending the colon.
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With colonoscopy the colon lesions can be identified. Usually this exploration will be done if blood is found in the stool or if the person has persistent intestinal transit disorders such as constipation, diarrhea and especially alternating between constipation and diarrhea.

The colonoscopy procedure lasts an average of 15-20 minutes, but that time is varying significantly depending on the individual conformation of the colon and the presence or absence in his medical past of a surgery in the abdomen. During this examination a biopsy can be taken if there are injuries that require this. Biopsy sampling is done only with the consent of the patient. In most cases, an average of eight cases out of ten, the procedure is painless. However in the cases in which the patient has pain, drugs can be administrated.



The patient preparation for colonoscopy usually begins the day before exploration. Preparation requires a fasting period which varies depending on the time that will be exploring. An average fasting period should be about 20-24 hours. Also, in the meantime, preparation involves ingestion of a solution to clean the intestine, in order to have an optimal visibility for the examination.

After the procedure you will have some restrictions. For example, the doctor will tell you that you can not drive the whole day after the colon cancer colonoscopy has been done. You may be also asked to avoid drinking alcohol until 24 hours after the intervention. If, within the 24 hours after the colonoscopy, you have chills, fever, excessive rectal bleeding, severe abdominal pain or bloating or swelling you should consult your doctor immediately. However, slow abdominal pain and bloating are expected after a colonoscopy, but if the pain persists something may be wrong.



Generally, the colonoscopy is a safe procedure and the appearance of a complication is not likely to happen. Anyway, like in every medical intervention, complications can appear especially if a polyp is removed during the intervention. Complications during a colonoscopy in searching for colon cancer tumors can include perforation, bleeding, bad reaction to anesthetic or an infection.

The colonoscopy is a very detailed exploration of the large intestine starting at the rectum and to the small intestine using a device as thin flexible tube called endoscope. The endoscope is equipped with a tiny camera and with a light source, which transmits images to a monitor. Starting with the age of 50 years old you should do a colonoscopy every year even if you do not present any of the colon cancer symptoms.

Today many studies and researches have shown that a healthy way of life with a healthy diet can prevent the development of many diseases. Nutrition has a critical role in preventing intestinal diseases, and so colon cancer.
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Nutritionists recommend that everybody, regardless of age, should consume vegetables and whole grains, which are rich in fiber. They form the basis of a balanced diet and, according to recent Canadian researchers, daily intake of fiber reduces by half the risk of colon cancer development.

Insulin is also very effective. Insulin is a fiber that stimulates the growth of the fermented in the large intestine and that has the ability to push out carcinogens from the body, reducing the risk of illness. It can be found in autumn in the roots or tubers of plants such as chicory, dandelion or kale.



Fruits are also a reliable ally in the battle with colon diseases. To be able to take full advantage of their qualities is necessary to vary their colors. Eat a red apple and then white grapes, a yellow pear, a green kiwi and an orange. Vegetables should be eaten in the same method. For example, you can eat a green cucumber, then a tomato, an eggplant, a broccoli and a radish. Specialists say that the active principles that stop cancer are included also in plant pigments.

Another study shows that yeast, spinach, bananas and potatoes, foods rich in vitamin B6, have a major impact on the incidence of colon cancer. Also does minerals, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc. The same result was found regarding antioxidants, vitamin E and selenium, which can also help prevent this disease.

To be able to reduce the risk of colon cancer development you should reduce the red meat quantity from you alimentation. In this category we can name beef, pork, lamb, mutton and veal, whether if it is minced, frozen or fresh. The risk of colorectal cancer is three times higher in people who consume red meat more than twice a day, compared with people who eat such meat less than once a week. Dangerous are also meat sausages with or without nitrates, smoked, dried or preserved by boiling meat or liver pate. Fish is indicated, because of its fatty acid content, that inhibit the growth of cancer tumors.



However, the food you eat has the ability to influence your risk in developing colon cancer. For people with colon cancer diet is very important. They have to eat enough to have strength during the treatment. Rich vitamins foods are the best choice in any colon cancer diet. However, the disease as well as the treatment, can cause different eating problems, that is way most patients have eating disorders, during and after treatment.

Colon cancer survival rate is higher when the disease is discovered in its early stages. In stage three and four only miracles can help a patient win the fight with colon cancer.
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Here is an impressive story of a colon cancer survivor who managed to defeat the cruel disease.

Shannon Kellum, a 30 year old accountant from Florida, found out in 1998 that she had terminal colon cancer. The doctors said she could not expect to live long. The cancer had already spread to her liver, with a large tumor that can not be removed. Despite that she had no expectancy to live, she is today entirely healed. But how did she manage to become from a certain lost patient a colon cancer survivor?



Shannon had been cured because she had the chance to visit one of the best researchers in the area of cancer treatments. After chemotherapy drugs had no effect on her disease, Shannon was administered C225 in April of 1999. C225 was a new drug that was still tested and seems to have good effects on cancer patients. The drug was given once a week intravenously. Chemotherapy was still administrated. In four month her tumor reduced with 80%. In eight months she suffered surgery because the tumor was small enough for it to be efficient. Today she is completely healed. Cancer cell can remain and start or restart a tumor again. Till’ that happens she is healthy and she has won the greatest battle of her life, the battle with death.

Shannon is not the only one who has survived colon cancer. Curtis Pesmen was diagnosed with colon cancer at forty-three years old. Curtis was a health journalist for many years and had wrote different articles about cancer survivors stories and about the cruel disease that kills so many people. In Curtis case treatment worked properly and the cancer was cured. Asked about the cancer effects from a physical, financial and emotional point of view, Curtis said that the physical and emotional effects were the same for him. If there are severe physical issues there are also emotional issues. Colon cancer treatment has an important financial impact on the patient and it can be a real concern.

Today, in the United States there are some laws that can help financial the cancer patients. They give you the insurance of repairing your financial status once you are cured and your treatment against the cancer has worked.

The colon cancer survivors can give you a lesson of strength and ability to fight without losing hope. It is very important to believe that you can be cured no matter what. Today, researches have reached a point in which life can be extended if the right drugs in the right amount and combination are administrated.

In general, cancer related diseases are hard to cure. That is way it is best to prevent the disease than to treat it. But in order to be able to prevent colon cancer you have to know which the main risk factors in getting colon cancer are.
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One of the risk factors is the age of the patient. 90% of the people diagnosed with colon cancer are over 50 years old. Colon cancer can occur in young people also, but such cases are kind of rare. However, African Americans seem to have a higher risk of developing colon cancer than others. Another risk factor is the personal history of colorectal cancer or polyps colony. People who have had colon cancer or colon polyps have a higher risk of developing this disease.



People with inflammatory bowel diseases have also a greater risk in getting colon cancer. Such conditions are also polyps family and Lynch syndrome, hereditary colon cancer polyps. So, family history of colorectal cancer or polyps colony is another risk. The existence of a relative who suffered from cancer augments the risk of colorectal cancers. The more relatives affected your risk is higher. Familial aggregation of cases may be the result of exposure to various carcinogens in the environment or the consequence of adopting an unhealthy lifestyle or certain dietary habits such as diet low in fiber and high in fat. Colon cancer and rectal cancer may be also associated with diet low in fiber and rich in fat and calories. Consumption of red meat and processed meat predispose to colon cancer development.

Inactivity can be also a risk factor of the disease. Lifestyle and physical inactivity may promote colon cancer, whereas regular exercise has the reverse effect.  People who suffer from insulin resistant diabetes may have a higher risk of developing colon cancer. Obese people may also have an increased risk of colon cancer and colon cancer mortality statistics compared with those of the non-obese persons sustain this. Smoking, as well as alcohol, increases the risk of rectal and colon cancer appearance. Regular use of alcohol predisposes to colorectal cancer.



Medical procedures can be another risk factor. Radiation therapy directed towards the abdominal cavity to treat other cancers forms may increase the risk of colon cancer.

In the colon cancer prevention process is very important to have a balanced diet, rich in vegetables, fruits and fiber. Diet high in fat should be completely avoided, and also the drinking of alcohol. You should not smoke, and if you ever did, quit smoking. Another risk factor is the presence of inflammatory diseases of the digestive tube. So, inactivity should be replaced with regular exercises every day. If you know that in your family someone had colon cancer you should be extra careful to these risk factors.