Colon Cancer Treatment – Introduction

Colon Cancer Treatment in India has become a highly sought-after treatment, considering the clinical expertise of some of the best colon cancer doctors in India. As we know, our colon (also known as the large intestine) is a vital organ of our digestive system that helps us to use the food we eat to get converted into fuel needed by our body.

Colon cancer starts when normal and healthy cells in the lining of your colon start growing out of control, resulting in a mass or tumor. This tumor could be cancerous or non-cancerous. A cancerous tumor is the one which is malignant, that is, it can grow and spread across other body parts. A benign tumor is the tumor that grows in size but does not spread.

Risk factors of having Colon Cancer

There isn’t any specific cause of colon cancer. Almost all colon cancers start as benign tumors or polyps which gradually grow into cancerous tumors. However, you are at a higher risk of colon cancer if you –

• Are older than 45 years of age
• Eat red or processed meats excessively
• Heavily smoke and drink
• Have a family history of colon cancer
• Have ulcerative colitis or inflammatory bowel disease
• Have colorectal polyps

Sign and Symptoms of Colon Cancer

Normally, people with colon cancer do not experience any major symptoms in the early stages of disease. When symptoms start appearing, they will most likely vary depending upon the location of your large intestine and the size of your cancer.

Common symptoms of colon cancer include –

• Continued abdominal pain, similar to gastritis or cramps.
• Drastic change in your bowel habits
• You will observe change in the consistency of your stool
• Bleeding from the rectal area or bloody stool
• You will feel as if your bowel doesn’t empty fully
• Feeling of weak and tired all the time
• Excessive weight loss

Diagnosis of Colon Cancer

Doctors at the best hospitals in India use the following tests to rule out if you have colon cancer –

• Blood Tests: Tests like Complete Blood Count (CBC) and Carcino Embryonic Antigen(CEA) are done to help in ruling out if you have become anemic due to internal bleeding.
• Colonoscopy: Colonoscopy is that minimally invasive procedure which is performed for diagnosing any abnormalities in the colon or large intestine as you may say. It is done with the help of a colonoscopy. A colonoscope is a long and flexible tube that has a tiny video camera located at its tip.
• Biopsy: During biopsy procedure, your doctor will remove a small tissue from the affected area and examine it under a microscope.
• Biomarker testing of the tumor: Your treating doctor may suggest you to undergo some lab tests that study the tumor through a sample. This study helps in identifying particular proteins, genes, and other such factors unique to your colon tumor.
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or PET CT Scan: A PET CT scan is an advanced testing technique in which pictures of organs and tissues inside the body are taken. Your doctor will inject a small amount of radioactive sugar substance into your body. This sugar substance then gets taken up by cells that start using most of the energy.
  Since your colon cancer tends to utilize energy, it actively absorbs most of the radioactive substance. Still, it is to be noted that the amount of radiation in the substance is too low to be harmful. A scanner is then used for detecting this substance in order to produce images of the inside of the colon area.

Colon Cancer Treatment

Your colon cancer treatment in India will depend upon how early the cancer gets detected. Before planning a treatment line, your doctor will first do the staging of cancer and then decide further treatment depending upon the stage of cancer.

Your course of treatment also depends upon the location of cancer and how soon it got detected. Read below for the various treatment option for colon cancer –

1. Endoscopic Treatment
Usually, polyps get safely removed during a colonoscopy if they are small in size. The larger polyps are marked with a special ink so that during subsequent colonoscopies, the marked area helps in observation.

2. Surgery
Surgical resection is the most common treatment of choice for colon cancer. It involves removal of the cancer through surgery. Your surgeon will remove the cancer completely and then reconstruct the bowel, if it is possible, so that your postoperative bowel function remains normal or almost normal.

The surgical technique would depend upon – location of tumor, stage of cancer, presence of other cancers, and risk of your colon cancer recurrence.

3. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy makes use of drugs for destroying your colon cancer cells. Chemotherapy for colon cancer is typically given after surgical intervention and if the cancer has grown larger in size or has spread upto the lymph nodes. Through this way, it would destroy cancer cells which remain inside the body and also help in reducing the risk of cancer from coming back.

4. Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy for colon cancer is done by using powerful energies like X-rays as well as protons, for killing cancerous cells. It could also be used for shrinking a large cancer tumor before surgery, so that it gets easily removed.

When surgery is not a feasible option, radiation therapy may be used for relieving symptoms like pain. At times, radiation therapy is combined with chemotherapy for treating colon cancer.

5. Targeted Therapy
Treatment of colon cancer through targeted drugs is done by focusing on precise abnormalities found within the cancer cells. The targeted drug treatments help in killing cancer cells by blocking these abnormalities.

This therapy is normally combined with chemotherapy for patients with advanced stage colon cancer.

6. Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy for colon cancer treatment is that drug treatment which uses your own immune system for fighting cancer. The disease-fighting immune system of your body would not attack your cancer. This is so because the cancer cells yield proteins that are known to blind the immune system cells from identifying the cancer cells. Thus, Immunotherapy functions by interfering in that process.

Colon Cancer Surgery in India

As the world becomes more connected, so too do its medical concerns. India is no stranger to this trend, as the country has seen a recent uptick in colon cancer surgery cases.

There are a number of reasons for this surge. Poor diet and lack of exercise are two major contributing factors. Additionally, the use of tobacco and alcohol also play a role in the development of colon cancer.

With more and more people being diagnosed with the disease, the demand for colon cancer surgery in India is on the rise. There are a number of reasons why colon cancer surgery in India is becoming more popular. First, the country’s medical infrastructure has improved significantly in recent years. Second, the cost of colon cancer surgery in India is less compared to developed countries. Third, the quality of care available in Indian hospitals is now on par with that available in developed countries.

As more and more people from developed countries opt for colon cancer surgery in India, the country’s medical infrastructure will continue to improve. This, in turn, will make the procedure even more affordable and accessible to people from all walks of life.