Cancer of the Large Intestine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DABeD_X-jm4

The large bowel has 5 sections

Transverse colon

Descending colon

Sigmoid colonRectum

Ascending colon

Digestion• Swallowed food, passes down the (oesophagus)

into your stomach.

• Digestion begins in the stomach

• Small intestine where digestion continues and the body absorbs nutrients from the food.

• The digested food then moves into the large bowel.

The large Intestine

• The large bowel absorbs water as the digested food passes

• Waste matter and toxins left behind forms into stools.

• The back passage (rectum) stores the stool until you are ready to pass it out of the body as a bowel motion.

Bristol Stool Chart

Symptoms

• The following symptoms may indicate colon cancer:

• Abdominal pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen

• Blood in the stool

• Diarrhoea, constipation, or other change in bowel habits

• Narrow stools

• Weight loss with no known reason

Analysis of Faeces

• The faeces can be analysed for various markers that are indicative of various diseases and conditions.

• Fecal calprotectin levels indicate an inflammatory process such as

• Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and neoplasms cancer

Preventative

Medical research suggests that low-fat and high-fibre diets may reduce your risk

of colon cancer.

Changing your diet and lifestyle is important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgBajFhHsI

Causes of Bowel Cancer

• Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are other risk factors for colorectal cancer.

• Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

• Have a family history of colon cancer

• Have a personal history of breast cancer

Red Meat and Colon Cancer• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgBajFhHsI

Different types of cancer can affect the colon: Lymphoma,

Carcinoid tumours,

Melanoma, Sarcomas.

Colon cancer refers to colon carcinoma only.

Statistics

• Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK.

• Around 40,700 people were diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2010 in the UK, that’s around than110 people every day

• In 2010, around 22,800 men were diagnosed with bowel cancer

• Third most common cancer in the UK men after prostate and lung

STATISTICS• Common cancer in men after prostate and lung cancer.

• Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in women after lung cancer and breast cancer, with around 17,900 new cases diagnosed in the UK in 2010.

• More than 8 in 10 bowel cancer cases occur in people aged 60 and over.

• Bowel cancer incidence rates have remained relatively stable for over a decade.

Blood Tests

• Blood tests to detect tumour markers, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9, may help your physician follow you during and after treatment.

• Complete blood count (CBC) to check for anaemia

• Liver function tests

Stages of Cancer

• Very early cancer on the innermost layer of the intestine

• Cancer is in the inner layers of the colon

• Cancer has spread through the muscle wall of the colon

• Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes

• Cancer has spread to other organs outside the colon

Treatment

• Treatment depends on many things, including stage of the cancer.

• Surgery to remove cancer (A colectomy)

• Chemotherapy to kill cancer cells

• Radiation therapy to destroy cancerous tissue

Surgery to remove cancer A colectomy

Colonoscopy

• Colon cancer may be treated by removing the cancer cells.

• This is done using colonoscopy.

• For stages I, II, and III cancer, more extensive surgery is needed to remove the part of the colon that is cancerous. This surgery is called colon resection.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy

• Almost all patients with stage III colon cancer will receive chemotherapy after surgery

• The drug 5-fluorouracil can increase the chance of a cure in certain patients.

Drugs

• 5-fluorouracil are the three most commonly used drugs.

• Irinotecan,

• Oxaliplatin,

• Capecitabine,

Research

Research has

reported that NSAIDs

Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Celecoxib

May help reduce the

risk of colorectal

cancer.

The risk can increase

your risk of bleeding and heart problems.

Fluorouracil

Treats many types of cancer including, breast cancer, head and neck cancers,

anal cancer, stomach cancer,

colon cancer and some skin cancers.

Side EffectsTiredness and breathlessness

Feeling or being sick

Mouth sores and ulcers

Diarrhoea Nosebleeds

Heart problems

Harder to fight

infections

Awareness

• The death rate for colon cancer has dropped in the last 15 years.

• This may be due to increased awareness and screening by colonoscopy.

http://video.about.com/coloncancer/A-Colonoscopy--What-to-Expect.htm