My father has just been diagnosed with colon cancer and will have surgery soon and possibly chemotherapy if necessary. Unfortunately, he put off a colonoscopy (should have done it several years ago), which would have revealed polyps, which could have been surgically removed before they become cancerous (adenocarcinoma). He recently started passing blood in his stool - which is kind of late in the game. There is not history of cance in our family of which I know, but my parternal grandfather did have diverticulitus - but lived to 103 yrs.
Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. It is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of death among cancers in the Western world. Many colorectal cancers are thought to arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-like growths are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time. The majority of the time, the diagnosis of localized colon cancer is through colonoscopy. Therapy is usually through surgery, which in many cases is followed by chemotherapy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal_cancerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdenocarcinomaIf one is 60 years old or older - go have a colonoscopy, especially if there is history of cancer in the family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ColonoscopyI am hoping that my father's condition is treatable.
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