What is cancer?
Cancer is a group of more
than 100 different diseases. They affect
the body's basic unit
cell. Cancer occurs when cells become abnormal and divide without control
or order. Like all other organs
of the body, large intestine (colon) and
rectum is composed of many types of cells.
Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only when the body needs them. Orderly process to help
keep us healthy.
If a cell continues to
divide when new
cells are not needed, a mass of
tissue formed. This mass of extra tissue,
called a growth or tumor, can be friendly
(harmless) or malignant
(harmful).
Tumors are not cancer friendly. They can usually be removed and in many cases, they do not
arise again. Most
important, cells from tumors do not spread to
the friendly other parts of the body. These tumors are rarely a threat to friendly
lives.
Malignant
tumors
are cancer. Cancer cells can invade and damage tissues and
organs near the tumor. Also,
cancer cells can break off and get out of a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This is how cancer spreads from the primary tumor to form new tumors in other
parts of the body. The spread
of tumor is
called metastasis.
When cancer spreads to other parts of the body, the new tumor has
the same kind of
abnormal cells and the same name as the
primary cancer. For example, if
colon cancer spreads
to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are cells
of colon cancer. The
disease is colon cancer that has spread (metastatic colon cancer), so
it is not liver cancer.
What is a Colon Cancer and Rectum Cancer?
The
colon
is part of the
gastrointestinal tract (digestive
system) where the material that is discarded (waste) is stored. The rectum is the end of the colon near the rectum (anus). Together, they
form a long, muscular
tube called the large
intestine. Tumors of the colon and rectum are
growths that come
from the inner wall of the colon. Friendly tumors
of the colon called polyps. Malignant tumors of the large intestine are called cancers. Friendly polyps
do not invade adjacent tissue or spread to
other parts of the body. Friendly polyps can
be easily removed during colonoscopy
and are not a
threat to life. If
the friendly polyps of the colon is not removed,
they can become
malignant (cancerous) over time. Most of colon cancer is
believed to have developed from polyps.
Colon and rectum cancer,
also referred to as colorectal cancer, can
invade and damage tissues and organs nearby. Cancer
cells can also break off and
go out and spread to other parts of the body (such as liver and lung)
where new tumors form. Colon cancer spread to
organs far away from
it is called metastasis of colon cancer.
Once metastasis has occurred in colorectal cancer,
a full recovery
from cancer is
not possible.
