Exploring Colorectal Cancer's Treatment

Colorectal cancer’s treatment may seem scary to many patients, but when the treatment process is broken up into steps the fear of treatment or the phobia most patients have disappears. Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that affects the colon or rectum; just like any type of cancer early discovery plays an important role in the treatment process (1). The process has three main steps that will be explained in this essay.
The first step in treating colorectal cancer depends on the patience awareness. If the patient notices any unusual bowl habits, immediate medical attention should be sought. For instance, if the patient suddenly suffers from extreme constipation, diarrhea, feeling bloated, fatigue, or notices blood in the bowl these are all symptoms of colorectal cancer (2). When any of these symptoms are noticed, the patient should see a gastroenterologist; who is a doctor that is responsible of curing or checking the digestive system. Since these symptoms …show more content…
The next step in the treatment of colorectal cancer consists of 3 main tests that are conducted (3). The first one includes a physical test that tests the patients overall physical health, the patients past health habits, and family history. The main focus of this test is to detect any unusual signs in the body such as lumps. Moreover, the next test is called the digital rectal exam, which consists of the doctor inserting conducting a colonoscopy or in some cases inserts a lubricated gloved finger in the rectum in order to detect of feel for lumps or anything that seems unusual. Finally, the last test that a patient undergoes is fecal occult blood test, which consists of sampling solid stool using a microscope in order to detect blood, and as a result the blood informs the medical team whether or not the patient has colorectal cancer