Colon Cancer Treatment & Nutrition Tips
| 1.Getting regular colorectal cancer screening tests every two years after the age of 50. If there is a personal or family history of the disease, colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, or breast, ovarian or endometrial cancer then you should talk to your doctor about earlier screening tests;
|
Before the surgery begins, the colon is cleansed completely in order to reduce any risk of infection. The cleansing is done using strong laxatives and enemas or by drinking one gallon of a cleansing fluid the night before the surgery.
The surgery is always done under general anesthesia while the patient is asleep. With new medicinal technologies like laparoscopy, the incision is hardly noticeable once it heals. After the abdomen is entered, the infected part of the colon is removed by surgery and the remaining parts of the colon are connected, fused or anatomized together.
![]() |
Care 70166 ColonCARE Home-Use Fecal Occult Blood Test |
If the cancer occurs in the lower rectum or anus, the doctor might have to make another incision in the rectum or near it. Since the cancer occurs towards the end of the rectum, there may be no colon left after the surgery to attach the remaining colon to. If such an incident occurs, then the remaining colon is rerouted to outside the abdomen. This is known as colostomy. This is usually done when the surgeon thinks that the anastomosis will not be successful or if the colon is not clean enough.
3. Another procedure to treat cancer is radiotherapy. This therapy uses x-rays for killing cancerous cells and making the tumor stop its evolution and even shrink. Radiation therapy can be performed by special machines situated near the body and by special tubes that contain radioactive material and are placed inside the body near the intestines. The radiation therapy can be combined with surgery and other procedures for treating cancer.
Chemotherapy is also used in treating cancer. Chemotherapy uses pills or substances that go by vein in the organism. As these drugs travel the blood stream and can kill cancerous cell all over the body the chemotherapy is known to as a systemic therapy. Chemotherapy can be associated with surgery. While the surgeon removes the tumors that can be seen with by a naked eye, chemotherapy destroys those small cells that the surgeon can not remove.
4. High-fiber foods help move waste through your digestive tract faster.
5. Calcium and vitamin D also seem to help protect against colorectal cancer.
6. Taking antioxidants, such as vitamin C or carotenoids, may reduce cancer risk but other studies have failed to back up these results.
7. Vegetables high in folate, like leafy greens, seem to offer particular protection from colon cancer, especially for those who drink alcohol.
8. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, also contain phytochemicals that may prevent damage to colon cells.
