Colon Cancer
Colon Cancer – Colorectal cancer
What do baseball stars Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and music promoter and TV personality Sharon Osboume have in common? They all have the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (colon cancer) which includes cancer of the colon and rectum. Each year approximately 135,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It is the third most common cancer in the United States, and it is the third leading cause of cancer death, at a rate of 60,000 per year. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, comedian Milton Berle, and movie actresses Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Montgomery all died of colorectal cancer.
Unlike other cancers, such as those of the lung, prostate, and breast, colorectal cancer is preventable provided that the biology of the disease is understood and the appropriate screening tests are used. This is because colorectal cancer has a clearly recognized premalignant stage – a period during which damaged cells that could lead to cancer are not yet cancerous – whereas other cancers do not. By targeting treatment during this stage, colorectal cancer itself can be prevented. Moreover, because it is possible to identify who might have these premalignant lesions, the number of patients with colorectal cancer should be declining. Unfortunately it is not.
But what really is cancer?
To understand the diagnosis and treatment of cancer it is important to understand cancer itself. Cancer begins in cells, the smallest self-functioning units in all living things. Cells make up tissues, which make up the organs of the body. All cells contain specific genes that govern the number of times the cells reproduce. Cells reproduce by dividing themselves.When a cell has divided a determined number of times, it then ceases to divide further Some genes also program cells to die when that number is reached.
A number of checks and balances take place within each cell to regulate this process of division. The development of cancer occurs when this system breaks down. When this happens, the genes that are involved in the growth-limiting attributes of the cell are damaged, allowing the cell to take on an immortal nature. In other words, the cancerous cell will divide indefinitely. Genes that render cells immortal are known as oncogenes (from the Greek words onkos for “mass” and geneo for “generation”). They may once have been normal growth-regulating genes that became mutated. Some oncogenes may have existed all along but were kept inactive in the normal noncancerous state of the cell. They may have been turned on either by a mutation during the normal course of cell division or damaged by a carcinogen and were repaired improperly.
Understanding Colon Cancer
Colon cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon. The colon is a part of the digestive system. Together with the rectum, it forms the large intestine, which is a long, muscular tube that measures 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m). The part of the colon that connects it to the rectum is called the sigmoid colon. At its other end, the colon is connected to the small intestine at the cecum. The colon performs an important bodily function. It removes water
and nutrients from digested food.