Depending on the size of your tumor, or the number of tumors, doctors may recommend one of three different types of colon cancer surgerycolon cancer surgery. While many people think that all types of colon cancer surgery result in a lifetime colostomy, modern medicine has made a number of advances to prevent this. As usual, the most important thing is finding out about the disease as early as possible, and getting it treated.
Today, one of the most reliable screening tools available is the colonoscopy. Although colon cancer is one of the top 5 killers, it could have been cured for a natural lifetime in 80% of its victims. Because colon cancer grows slowly, and forms polyps, in most cases, the colonoscopy can also offer simultaneous treatment. In this form of colon cancer surgery, while the gastroenterologist is looking for tumors, he/she can literally cut them right off the wall of your colon. This is also the only form of colon cancer surgery that can be performed in a routine doctor office setting.
Not only does this save you from more extensive forms of colon cancer surgery, you may well never have another polyp develop for the rest of your natural life, let alone a malignancy. Even if you are afraid of a colonoscopy, the long term consequences of that fear can be catastrophic for you and for your family. Many people who survive other types of colon cancer surgery will tell you that they wish they had just gone for the colonoscopy in the first place.
If the polyps are too large, your surgeon may have to cut out part of your intestine. Depending on your overall health, and the size of the tumor, you may not need to have an intermediate colostomy. This type of colon cancer surgery is often referred to as a “resection”. Basically, your colon is shaped like a tube. The surgeon simply cuts out the part of the tube with tumor in it, and then joins the two ends together. If the tumor is small, and you are in good health, chances are, the surgeon can rejoin the two ends of your colon during the same colon cancer after surgerysurgery. In other cases, your surgeon may think it best to give you a temporary colostomy, and then perform the resection later on. For those who must undergo chemotherapy and radiation, having a temporary colostomy may be of advantage, since you won’t need to worry about running to the bathroom wi th diarrhea.
Finally, the most aggressive form of colon cancer surgerycolon cancer surgery involves the placement of a permanent colostomy. If the tumor is located very close to the rectum, or is very large, there may not be enough intestine left to enable the two ends to be rejoined. While this may seem horrible at first, people can and do live for years with colostomies. Anyone that has survived any kind of cancer is likely to tell you they are glad to be alive, and a colostomy is the least of their worries.
The very thought of having cancer causes millions of people to fear even going for the diagnostic procedures that will alert them to what is going on inside their bodies. While many people may also fear colon cancer surgery, it may be as simple as an office procedure. Colon cancer is the single most curable form of cancer, and its screening method, the colonoscopy, can also be the only form of colon cancer surgery required. The most important thing to remember, and do, is find out as early as possible if you have colon cancer, or pre-malignant polyps.