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 What is Colorectal Cancer?

 Colorectal cancer is an uncontrolled, malignant (destructive) growth of the mucosal cells of the colon (large intestine) or the rectum.

Australia has the world’s highest incidence of bowel cancer - On average one in 19 Australian men and one in 27 Australian women will develop colorectal cancer by the age of 75 years.  Age is an important factor.  The risk begins at age 40, doubling every 5 years until age 60 and even more rapidly as the person gets older

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Statistics show 90% of bowel cancers can be successfully cured if detected at an early stage.  Early detection leads to an improved prognosis and less severe treatment.

Colorectal cancer is the commonest internal cancer affecting both sexes in Australia and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer related death.  .  Colorectal cancer (CRC) is mostly seen in persons aged 40 years and over and from age 50 years its incidence rises sharply.

These cancer masses grow rapidly without regard to the usual control mechanisms of the body, invade local adjacent structures, may cause bowel obstruction or spread to distant parts of the body (metastases) where they may disrupt function of other organs such as the liver. 

 Colorectal cancer frequently ulcerates and bleeds.  Often microscopic bleeding is present long before the patient develops symptoms. 

This interval before any symptoms becomes evident is the period where screening tests for colorectal cancer are most indicated as it is the window of opportunity to effect the only known cure of the disease by resecting (surgically removing) the cancer. 

What is a Polyp?

A polyp is a small often rounded mass of growing cells of the intestinal lining and through to representing the earliest stages of colorectal cancer development.  Cells making up the polyp are usually benign adenomas (non-malignant) but a small percentage may, over a 10 year period, become cancerous.   Polyps, like cancers, may bleed.

 As with all cancers, colorectal cancer progresses in stages.  In its earliest stages, colorectal cancer is one of the most curable cancers, with predictions of a 95% chance for a five year survival in stage 1, as opposed to only a 3% in stage IV.

What are the Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer?

 During the early stages of colorectal cancer development, when the tumour is either a small benign polyp or small cancer, there are usually no symptoms. 

 As stated above, this early stage disease is where the best outcomes are achieved in population screening by programs such as Rotary’s Bowelscan.

In Summary

•   The cancer begins  almost always as a non-malignant projection from the bowel wall known as a polyp

•   The process of change from a polyp to a cancer is slow—taking up to 10 years.

•  Most, but not all, polyps and cancers bleed from time to time.

• Procedures that detect and remove polyps and early cancers can be expected to reduce deaths from cancer.

•  The obvious symptoms of possible bowel cancer are:-

• -  visible blood in the toilet bowl following a bowel movement.

• -  Rectal bleeding.

• -  Persistent change in bowel habits, eg constipation or diarrhoea.

• -  Abdominal pain.

 ·         If any of these symptoms are evident people should consult their doctor without delay.