Colon and rectum cancers are the second cause of death in the United States today. 1 in 17 Americans will develop colorectal cancer at some point in life. Early diagnosis of the disease is the key to survival. With better ways of diagnosis and more aggressive approach the survival average can be improved from 62% to 81%, meaning that 56,000 patients will live every year. Approximately, the 5 years survival rate for colon cancer is 90% when the disease is diagnosed early, in a local stage. However, only 37% of diagnoses are early. As a result, colon cancer is the second leading cause of death in United States.

The cancer o the colon begins with a colon polyp, which is usually developed without any symptoms. Finding and removing polyps through early detection, before they become cancerous can stop colon cancer before it starts. In fact, if all Americans over 50 years old would make regular tests, annual deaths due to colon cancer could decrease with half.



The cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer and cancer and the one that begins in the rectum is called rectal cancer. Cancers that affect both organs can be called colorectal cancers. The colon and the rectum are parts of the body’s digestive system, where nutrients from food and toxins are stored until they are removed. Together, the colon and rectum form a long muscular tube called the large intestine. The cancer of the colon is a disease in which cells in the colon and rectum become abnormal and divide without control and order, forming a mass called a tumor cell.

Why do people get colon cancer? There are many risk factors and causes that can favor the colon cancer development. The age of the patient is one of them, because people over 50 are more likely to get this disease. However, if you are smoking, drinking alcohol and if you are having an unhealthy diet, you have all the chances is developing sometime in your live colon cancer. The family history of the patient, meaning that is you have a case of colon cancer in your family, can also be a risk factor.



The most important thing regarding a colon cancer patient is to detect the disease before it is actually formed through screening test and other medical analyzes. This is very important because the chances of cure are depended on the stage of the disease and the treatment that can be used to cure it depends also on the disease evolution. If colon cancer is diagnosed in the early stages, the chances of cure are very high, but if it is detected in the last stage, it is more likely to produce the patient death.