Radiation Therapy for Colon Cancer

According to the reports published by the American Cancer Society, there are 101,340 new colon cancer cases expected to be diagnosed this year. Additionally, almost 40,000 new cases of rectum cancer are expected as well; despite the fact that they are categorized differently, the majority of patients that suffer from colon cancer also develop rectum cancer. Since colorectal cancer happens to be one of the most common types of cancers, there are numerous facilities offering radiation therapy for colon cancer. In order to decide which treatment is the best for you, it’s important that you receive treatment directly from an oncologist.

How Radiation Therapy Works for Colon Cancer

Radiation therapy for colon cancer makes use of high-energy levels of radiation in order to attack the cancerous cells. It’s critical to attack these cells because they divide and spread extremely quickly, but with the radiation therapy can be slowed down, if not destroyed. The advantage of using radiation therapy for colon cancer rather than chemotherapy is the fact that you will receive radiation locally; this decreases the risks of having healthy cells destroyed by the radiation beam. Furthermore, there are two subtypes of radiation therapy for colon cancer and those are external and internal radiotherapy. The external radiation therapy for colon cancer uses a large machine that irradiates a beam, and the internal radiation is done by implanting a tiny container in the tumor, or very close to it.

Treating Colon and Rectum Cancer

Radiation therapy for colon cancer can be administered by itself, or in conjunction with other types of treatment, such as chemotherapy. Your oncologist will be in charge of preparing the treatment plan for your condition, and this will be based on your overall health condition and the stage in which the cancer is in. There are cases in which colon cancer is far too advanced and the patient cannot be cured, but they still have some type of treatment done in order to relieve the pain. In addition, you might receive radiation therapy colon cancer before or after having surgery; if the tumor is accessible enough and hasn’t spread, the majority of oncologists will remove it with surgery. Your oncologist will most likely prescribeadditional medication to protect your colon from the radiation.

Possible Side Effects

It’s critical that you are made aware of the possible side effects associated with radiation therapy for colon cancer. Even though there is a chance that you won’t experience major complications, it is the hospital’s and doctor’s responsibility to discuss with you the possible discomfort that your body may feel after the treatment. Keep in mind that some side effects are a lot more common than others, and you may experience only a few of them. Some of the most common side effects associated with radiation therapy for colon cancer are:

• Nausea
• Skin problems (redness)
• Bloody stools
• Exhaustion or fatigue
• Diarrhea
• Discomfort in the intestines

Furthermore, there are cases in which the discomfort can be treated with low-dose medication and plenty of rest.