Finding Out You Have Colorectal Cancer

You’ve just been told, “You have colorectal cancer.” That’s scary to hear. However, knowledge is powerful and can help make a difference in how you handle your experience with cancer.

Every person who has recently received a diagnosis of colorectal cancer has certain questions--many of them are likely to be the same as yours: What is colorectal cancer? Will I survive? Was my diagnosis correct? What are my treatment choices? How do I choose the best doctor? Getting answers to these questions can help ease your fears.

We’re here to help. In this section, we’ll answer your first questions. Our goal is to give you the information you need so that you can work with your healthcare team to make the best choices about your treatment. Our goal is to help you face cancer with confidence.

The first step is to learn more about colorectal cancer and your diagnosis.

What Is Colorectal Cancer?

(Click to enlarge picture.) The Digestive System: You can see the transverse colon, sigmoid, and rectum which are part of the large intestine.

The colon is the last organ in the digestive tract. It’s also called the large intestine. Your doctor may simply refer to it as the bowel. It’s where food goes after it’s been through the stomach and small intestine. Its role is to absorb water from digested food. Bowel movements form in the colon. They’re held there until they’re pushed into the lowest part of the colon called the rectum. It’s right above the anus, which is the outlet for bowel movements.

Our bodies are made up of tiny building blocks called cells. Normal cells grow and multiply when the body needs them and die when they are no longer needed. This is how balance is maintained. However some cells go through a series of changes, called mutations, and the “switch” that tells the cells to die is turned off. These cells become cancerous, called malignant. Cancer occurs when cells multiply constantly, whether they are needed or not. In most cancers, the abnormal cells grow and form a lump called a tumor. Colorectal cancer is cancer that starts in the lower part of the digestive tract, either in the colon or the rectum. Usually, the term colorectal refers to cancer in either of these places.