Colon cancer is the type of cancer that begins in the final part of the digestive tract known as Colon. It affects older people more, and is also known as Colorectal cancer ( when cancer also involves the rectum ). It begins as small, benign ( non cancerous ) clumps or masses of cells called Polyps.These polyps develop on the inside of the colon, and over a time spread to become colon cancer. The symptoms of colon cancer come later, so the doctors advise to get the colon polyps screened regularly.
The causes and risk factors for colon cancer include- older age, history of inflammatory diseases of intestines like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, history of polyps, etc, inherited syndromes that increase the risk of colon cancer, family history of colon cancer, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, smoking,etc.
The different treatment modalities for colon cancer are-