What is colorectal cancer?
Cancer is the name for a disease that can affect cells from all the organs and body s structures and is considered to be life threatening. The colon and rectum are a part of the large intestine and their function is to absorb nutrients and water from the food that passes through the intestine before it goes out of the body. Colorectal cancer is the disease that affects the cells from the colon and rectum creating a malign or benign tumor.
Cancer is an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells in the body. “Colorectal” refers to the colon and rectum, which together make up the large intestine. Colorectal cancer can originate anywhere in the large intestines. The majority of colorectal cancers develop first as polyps, abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum that may become cancerous.
Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells divide without control and can spread to other parts of the body. The colon and rectum are part of the large intestine (large bowel). Colon and rectum cancers which are sometimes referred to together as colorectal cancer arise from the lining of the large intestine. When cancer arises from the lining of an organ like the large intestine it is called a carcinoma. Other types of colon cancer are rare and include lymphoma, carcinoid tumors, melanoma, and sarcomas. Use of the term colon cancer throughout this question and answer section refers to colon “carcinoma” and not the other rare types of colon cancer.
Colorectal cancer is cancer that starts in either your colon or your rectum, which together make up the lower part of your digestive tract. It is the fourth most common cancer for both men and women. Cancer usually does not start in both the colon and rectum. But both types of cancer have a lot in common. So they are often referred to as “colorectal” cancer.
