Contents
: Do you know the variations between colon and rectal cancers?
Nancy Kemeny, MD: You begin in the GI tract, you enter in the wind pipe, the stomach, the little bowel, and you hit the colon. And also at the finish from the colon may be the rectum.
So, in this way, rectal cancer is worse, since it is really low, many occasions whether it’s suprisingly low, to be able to take it off,
the individual should have a colostomy, which within the minds of numerous patients is an extremely bad factor. But for most colon cancers, you don’t need a colostomy.
Therefore it is just the really low rectal cancers where that’s required, and in the therapy, when you are speaking about adjuvant treatment,
meaning the therapy following a section, the treatments will change.
Nancy Kemeny, MD (cont.): Because in cancer of the colon, becasue it is greater up, and also, since it spreads within the abdomen,
and also to the liver and lung area, the therapy is chemotherapy later on. However in rectal cancer, becasue it is really low,
and it is not far from the nerves and also the bones and things are not far from in which the rectum is, you’ll need radiation in addition to chemotherapy following the surgery,
or perhaps prior to the surgery. Lots of surgeons nowadays enjoy radiation and chemotherapy prior to the surgery to try and lessen the tumor, so they’re going to have to complete less surgery.
Nancy Kemeny, MD (cont.): Therefore the remedies are different, based on be it colon or rectum. But when it’s metastatic, and therefore it’s spread towards the liver or lung area, in order to the bones,
then your treatment is identical.
Resourse: http://webmd.com/colorectal-cancer/video/