Treatment For Bowel Cancer

There are several treatments for bowel cancer, but it has been seen that operation is one of the most common ways of treating cancer of the bowel. Also, there are many different kinds of surgical options that a doctor can select for the treatment of bowel cancer, but ultimately all of them aim at the same thing, which is removal of the malignant tumor.

In case the malignancy is present in the top part of the large bowel, then a surgical procedure known as right hemicolectomy is done. Here the top part of the bowel is removed. However, if the malignancy is present in the second half of the bowel, then a left hemicolectomy is done, while sigmoid colectomy is selected if the malignant tumor is present in the bottom half of the bowel. So, based on the location of the malignancy, the surgical procedure is selected.

The other methods of treatment for bowel cancer include the following:

Radiotherapy: Here the treatment is given prior to the surgery and also after the operation is done. This is primarily done to lessen the chances of recurrent cancer. Also, in some patients radiotherapy helps to reduce the mortality rate. However, this therapy has its own side effects that need to be taken into consideration when opting for it. Radiotherapy is also used in patients suffering from recurrent bowel cancer. Here the treatment is done to improve the quality of life rather than to treat the cancer.

Chemotherapy: This other kind of treatment used to treat bowel cancer is using drugs that are anti-carcinogenic in nature. Often, this kind of therapy is performed after the surgical removal of the malignancy. The most commonly used drug in bowel cancer chemotherapy is 5 FU. This drug is given intravenously. All chemotherapy drugs have side effects like causing loss of hair, low WBC count and nausea.

More Articles :

Diagnosing Small Bowel Cancer

The small bowel is also known as the small intestine. It is about fifteen feet in length and it forms a major part of the digestive tract. The small bowel is responsible for breaking down food and allowing the body to absorb the nutrients required by it. Small bowel cancer is rather rare and just two percent of cases have been reported in the US. More..