Colorectal Cancer

What Is Colorectal Cancer?

The term colorectal cancer is used to describe both colon and rectal cancers. Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists provide advanced medical options for prevention and treatment of both.

Who Is At Risk?

Colorectal cancer affects men and women equally and the risk increases after age 45. Additional risk factors include chronic inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, or family member diagnosed with colorectal cancer or polyps.

Prevention

Colorectal cancer is preventable and treatable. When detected in its initial stages, colorectal cancer is treatable and even potentially curable. In fact, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons reports that 80-90% of patients are restored to normal health if the cancer is diagnosed and treated early.

Prevention starts with a screening colonoscopy. The majority of colorectal cancers begin as a benign polyp in the colon. A Texas Colon & Rectal Specialist can find and remove polyps during a screening colonoscopy, preventing them from growing into cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends all individuals receive a screening colonoscopy by age 45 and as recommended by your physician thereafter.

Healthy choices help prevent colorectal cancer. While screening colonoscopies can prevent colorectal cancer by detecting polyps, a healthy lifestyle also goes a long way toward circumventing the disease. Small simple choices can be made to reduce your chances of colorectal cancer.

Exercise

Maintain a healthy weight

Eat high-fiber foods

Don’t smoke

Colorectal Cancer Symptoms

For many, early colorectal cancer has no symptoms, making screening colonoscopy vital to your health. In some cases, the first sign of colorectal cancer is a low red blood cell count (anemia) due to undetected internal bleeding.

• A change in bowel habits (e.g., diarrhea, constipation, narrowing of the stool, etc.) lasting more than a few days
• A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that is not relieved by doing so
• Rectal bleeding
• Blood in the stool, which may cause the stool to look dark
• Cramping or abdominal pain
• Weakness and fatigue
• Unintended weight loss

Other non-cancerous conditions such as infection, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease may also exhibit similar symptoms. If you experience one or more, see your doctor immediately.

Knowing the Difference Between a Hemorrhoid and Colon Cancer

Do you know the difference in symptoms of a hemorrhoid and colon cancer? Around 90% of colon and rectal cancer patients incorrectly assume they have hemorrhoids because of symptoms including rectal itching and bleeding. Specialized training allows our providers to identify the difference between a hemorrhoid and colon cancer.

Individuals who experience new, constant, or increased bleeding, or a combination of pain and bleeding, may be experiencing more than hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids tend to flare and disappear, making bleeding patterns erratic and circumstantial. Contact our office if you experience any new symptoms, no matter your age. Our commitment to early detection is one way we strive to deliver stronger outcomes to our patients and families.

*Source:  https://www.stopcoloncancernow.com/colon-cancer-facts/hemorrhoids-vs-colon-cancer/hemorrhoids-or-colon-cancer

Colorectal Treatment Options

Despite the high recovery rate among both men and women, colorectal cancer remains the second-most common cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. Prevention is best, but if you are among the 140,000 people affected by the disease each year, Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists can help.

Robotic colorectal surgery begins much like traditional laparascopic surgery. Once the patient is anesthetized, one of our certified robotic colorectal surgery specialists makes four tiny incisions, inserts trocars, and inflates the abdominal cavity. Next, the surgeon docks the robotic unit—a four-armed device which operates a laparoscope and up to three specialized surgical instruments—into the trocars and moves to a separate console. Using a high-definition 3-D monitor and hand controls, your colorectal surgeon is then able to perform the operation with a high degree of precision.

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery is a minimally invasive surgical technique in which a micro-camera and micro-instruments are used to view the contents of the abdomen and perform surgery. Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists are experts in the field of laparoscopic colorectal surgery and frequently lead national teaching seminars on the subject. Our specialists perform the vast majority of all colorectal surgeries laparoscopically, thus assuring patients faster recovery and less pain than traditional invasive methods.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEMS) is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure used to remove rectal polyps or growths that are too high or too large to access via colonoscopy or traditional invasive transanal methods, avoiding abdominal surgery. Performed through the anus, no incisions are needed, and patients typically feel no pain during the procedure. TEMS is used to treat early detected rectal cancers and has a much lower polyp recurrence rate compared to standard transanal removal.

Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is an innovative minimally invasive technique used to perform local excision of well-selected rectal neoplasms. This procedure utilizes a single-incision laparoscopic port as access into the rectal vault and provides a quality of surgical resection similar to TEM.