Carcinoma Of The Sigmoid Colon

The sigmoid colon is a loop of the large intestine, which is on an average 40 cm. in length. It lies behind the pelvis, displaced into the abdominal cavity. Carcinoma of the Sigmoid Colon is seen more commonly between the ages of 40 and 80. The disease has its highest incidence between the ages of 60 and 70 years. And, surprisingly, women are more prone to get inflicted by it, than men.

The colorectal cancer is a life-threatening, uncontrolled growth of tumor, which takes place in the large intestine, including the rectum. About two-thirds of these cancers occur in the sigmoid region of the intestine and are known as the cancer of the sigmoid colon. One-third occurs at the junction of the sigmoid colon and the rectum.

The cancer has its incidence more on the denizens of the western world rather than Asia. This is quite a peculiar statistic and the scientists are still trying to find out why it is so.

Recent studies have shown that colorectal cancer,including the sigmoid colon cancer, has been on a steady decline among the Caucasian communities in the United States, although, its incidence among the African-American communities has increased by almost fifty percent.

The Hispanic Caucasians have only half the mortality rates as compared to the non-Hispanic whites. Another surprising fact observed by scientists is that the migrants to the United States, even those from Asia, tend to pick up this disease at the same rate, similar to those living in their adoptive country. The disease seems to have a higher occurrence in the urban areas.

This makes it amply clear that sigmoid colon cancer has its causation more in your lifestyle, rather than your metabolism. The reasons, therefore, for developing the disease are similar to those of colorectal cancer.

If you go beyond forty, you are at risk of developing colon polyps. Multiple polyps and those exceeding a diameter of about 1.0 cm can develop into malignant neoplasms, and the sigmoid colon carcinoma.

The other causation factors are any previous cancers, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. The development of the cancer gets hastened if the patient has the habit of taking excessive alcohol; coupled with the consumption of a high-fat, low-fiber, low-folate and a low-calcium diet.

The screening of the sigmoid colon cancer can be done by an internal examination called Sigmoidoscopy. A sigmoidoscope is used for the process. The instrument is a fiber-optic flexible tube with a small camera attached to its end. It is about twenty inches long and inserted gently into the anus, till it reaches the sigmoid colon. After this, the entire area is searched for any polyps, inflammations, etc.

If a carcinoma of the sigmoid colon is found then medications and appropriate chemotherapy is prescribed as curative measures.

Check Colon Carcinoma Metastasis In Time

Cancer cells often transverse themselves to other parts of the body and affect the other organs too. It spreads to the adjoining or other nearby organs and this spread of colon caner is called colon carcinoma metastasis. The word metastasis means the spread of disease from one part of the body to another. It’s only the infections and the malignant cells that can metastasize.

Colon carcinoma cells are more prone to metastasis as the colon adjoining organs like stomach, ovaries, liver, lungs, and rectum are very vulnerable. Cancer cells always have the tendency to break away and spill or leak from the primary site and enter the lymph nodes or blood vessels to travel to other sites. Once they settle there, they start to grow and affect the normal tissues of other organs too.

Metastasis varies in degree according to the type of cancer that one may be suffering from. Colon carcinoma refers to the growth of malignant tissues in your colon. It is also called bowel cancer where malignant cells grow in the colon, appendix and rectum area. If a person is suffering from colon cancer and metastasis occurs to organs like lungs or liver, he may start to experience some symptoms.

When the malignant cells move to the lungs and start to develop there, the patient starts to come across shortness of breath. If a patient confirmed with colon cancer experiences such symptoms, he or she may immediately inform the doctor.

Among the various organs that might experience the metastasis of colon cancer liver is the most vulnerable organ. Most deaths due to metastasis of colon cancer have been a result of severe liver damage. In case of liver metastasis, the patient would experience right upper abdominal pain or epigastric pain. Sometimes, there could also be symptoms of jaundice visible if the bile outflow is blocked by growing cells. Liver enlargement is a possibility too.

The metastasis of colon carcinoma also affects the treatment procedure. Any kind of cancer metastasis affects the survival chance and the treatments options. If the carcinoma cells travels to other parts and don’t show any symptoms or development, the doctors may not be able to diagnose them. Even a single cell breaking away from the tumor can have a later affect.

There are various treatments that are applied in detecting metastasis cancer. The doctors may perform radiosurgery, biological therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy or others. The choice of the treatment applicable depends a lot on the stage of the cancer.

So,if you have a patient in your home who is suffering from colon cancer it’s very important that you keep a check on every symptom that the patient experiences, to detect if there is any metastasis taking place. Colon carcinoma metastasis could be very dangerous as it attacks the most vital organs of our body like liver and lungs and may further aggravate the problem

Dukes B Colon Carcinoma- Stage II Of Colon Cancer

Cancerous growths in internal parts of the body like rectum, colon or appendix is known as colon caner. Colon cancer is the second most leading cause of deaths due to cancer around the world. It is also the third most prominent form of cancer. It is divided into five stages depending on its growth.  Dukes B Colon Carcinoma is the second stage of colon cancer.

When the cancerous growths move beyond the innermost layer of the colon and into the middle layer of the colon it is regarded as Dukes B Colon Carcinoma. Also if the colon cancer extends to the nearby organs it is still regarded as the second stage of colon cancer.

Stage 2 of colon cancer is further divided into two sub stages- Duke B1 or Stage 2A and Duke B2 or Stage 2B. B2 is the more advanced stage here.

Regarding the anatomy of the colon cancer, the first layer of the colon is referred to as mucosa, after this comes a very thin muscle layer called submucosa. After this comes two thick muscle layers and only after passing through it comes the outermost layer of colon called serosa.

In stage 2A the colon cancer only makes it to the muscle layer or at best to the tissues surrounding the colon or the rectum. Whereas in stage two the condition is much more serious as the colon cancer extends to the nearby organs like ovaries and bladder. Also here the colon cancer can spread to peritoneum. Peritoneum is the tissue that is responsible for covering most of the organs of our body.

If a person is diagnosed in stage 2 of colon cancer his treatment consists mainly of surgical resurrection. In this method the doctors try to remove the affected or infected portion of the colon completely and thus reconnect the remaining healthy portions of the colon. In majority of the cases this treatment method is used. But if the doctor thinks that chances of recurrence of colon cancer are there then he can revert to treatment methods like chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation.

Regarding survival rates for people suffering from colon cancer a lot of factors come into play. The first factor is the stage. The earlier the stage, the more are the chances of recovery. The location of tumor is also another important factor. Tumors in the right colon are difficult to recognize as the symptoms occur at a very late stage.

In fact the place where you reside is also a factor of concern. If your place has sufficient facilities for colon cancer recognition then it is very likely that your problem will be diagnosed at a very early stage.

But medical researches have revealed that in around 90 percent of people with Dukes B Colon Carcinoma, people survived for even 5 years after being diagnosed with this condition.