Cancer care at ZenHeal
Colorectal Cancer: symptoms, tests and treatment
Colorectal cancer starts in the large bowel (colon) or the rectum. It is increasingly seen in younger adults in India, and bleeding is often wrongly blamed on piles. Surgery cures many patients when the cancer is found before it spreads.
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Warning signs of colorectal cancer
- Blood in the stool or bleeding from the back passage
- A change in bowel habit lasting more than 3 weeks
- A feeling that the bowel has not emptied fully
- Pain or a lump in the abdomen
- Unexplained anaemia, tiredness or weight loss
These signs often have other causes. If one lasts more than two to three weeks, see a doctor and get it checked.
Who is at higher risk
- Age over 45
- Family history of bowel cancer or polyps
- Diet high in red and processed meat and low in fibre
- Obesity and inactivity
- Smoking and alcohol
- Long-standing ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease
How colorectal cancer is diagnosed
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1
Colonoscopy and biopsy
A camera examines the whole bowel and samples are taken from anything abnormal.
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2
CT scan
Checks the liver, lungs and lymph nodes for spread.
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3
MRI pelvis
For rectal cancer, shows how deep the tumour goes and helps plan surgery and radiotherapy.
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4
CEA blood test
A tumour marker used to monitor treatment and follow-up.
Treatment options
The right plan depends on the stage, the type of cancer and your overall health. Most patients receive more than one of these.
Surgery
Removal of the affected part of the bowel with its lymph nodes. Many operations can be done by keyhole surgery, and most patients do not need a permanent stoma.
Chemotherapy
Given after surgery to lower the chance of return, or as the main treatment for spread disease.
Radiotherapy
Mainly for rectal cancer, often with chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumour.
Targeted therapy
Drugs added to chemotherapy for advanced cancer, based on tests of the tumour.
Colorectal Cancer treatment at ZenHeal
Surgical oncologists at both hospitals operate on colon and rectal cancers, including keyhole surgery at Prayagraj. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are planned by the same team.
Doctors who treat colorectal cancer
Common questions about colorectal cancer
Often it is piles, but bleeding with a change in bowel habit, weight loss or anaemia needs a colonoscopy to rule out cancer.
Most colon cancer patients do not. Some rectal cancer operations need a temporary stoma that is closed after a few months.
Yes, in most patients diagnosed at stage 1 to 3. Even when it has spread to the liver, surgery combined with chemotherapy can sometimes cure it.
Other cancer types
Diagnosed or worried about colorectal cancer?
Upload your reports for a free review, or ask a ZenHeal oncologist to call you back.