Learning about Colon Cancer
- Hit ’80s singer Taylor Dayne, 60, recently shared she waged a successful battle against colon cancer. Her disease was caught early during a routine colonoscopy.
- Thankfully, the frequency of her colonoscopy screenings had been bumped up to twice a year following the previous discovery of benign polyps.
- The term colorectal cancer is used to describe cancers that begin in the colon or the rectum so some people just use the term colon cancer if that's where the disease began.
- One of our experts says colon cancers can be prevented when polyps are found early. And with colorectal cancer cases in younger people on the rise, the recommended age for beginning screening has been moved from 50 to 45.
- When it comes to treatment for colon cancer at stages one, two and three, there is the potential for a curative effect with surgical resection. One of our experts says all patients with stage one to three colon cancers undergo surgery “if they’re healthy enough to tolerate it.”
Dayne’s cancer journey serves as an excellent example of cancer screening gone right. Doctors had previously found benign polyps during a colonoscopy, so they upped the frequency of the routine procedure to twice a year.
Read MoreTaylor Dayne Overcomes Colon Cancer
Taylor Dayne underwent surgery to remove 10 inches of her colon for treatment and never needed chemotherapy or radiation. In fact, she was deemed cancer-free immediately following the surgery.But that doesn’t mean everything went smoothly. She actually had a complicated recovery process that involved a post-op infection.
“I ended up staying in the hospital for about 15 days, 20 days,” Dayne said. “There’s no guarantees when they open you up, what’s going to happen. That’s really the truth.”
This was especially hard for Dayne to endure because her hospitalization brought her back to the times she suffered from horrible kidney infections as a child.
“For me, being back, I felt like I was four years old again back in the hospital, basically locked inside my own body without a voice,” she explained. “So, this has challenged me mentally, emotionally.
“I am now back in a therapy program.”
Now that the songbird is feeling better, Dayne wants to urge other people, especially women, to talk with their doctors about their colon cancer risk and an appropriate screening schedule.
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“When you’re really sick, you don’t have the energy, you’re really relying on your champions around you, your soldiers, your people,” she said. “Find the doctor that will tell you the truth. Be a warrior for yourself.”
Understanding Colorectal Cancer
The term colorectal cancer is used to describe cancers that begin in the colon or the rectum so some people just use the term colon cancer if that's where the disease began. The cancer develops when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to actually become cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts.
RELATED: How Is Rectal Cancer Treated Differently Than Colon Cancer?
Colorectal cancer, like all cancers, presents its own unique challenges for patients on the road to recovery. But Dr. Heather Yeo, a surgical oncologist and colorectal surgeon at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, wants to remind people how far the treatment of this disease has come.
"One of the most exciting things about my job is that we've made a lot of progress on treatment options," Dr. Yeo says in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. "However, patients are still while they're living longer, they are still living with colon cancer, and so I think it's really important that we talk about how some of the things in your life affect you."
Screening
Dr. Yeo also emphasizes the importance of colorectal cancer screenings such as colonoscopies because most colorectal cancers can be prevented early with screening.
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"In the United States, on a national level, colorectal cancer has been decreasing for the last 20 years," Dr. Yeo says. "And much of that is thought to be directly due to screening for colon cancer."
Even still, colorectal cancer cases are rising among younger people. And in the United States alone, rates have increased every year from 2011 to 2016 by 2 percent among people younger than 50. Because of this increase, the United States Preventive Services Task Force has recently updated its colorectal cancer screening recommendations to begin at age 45 instead of 50.
"We know that colon cancers can be prevented when polyps are found early," Dr. Yeo said. "Lowering the screening age helps somewhat with this. But access to care is a real problem."
RELATED: Why Do So Few Black Men Get Colon Cancer Screenings?
And increasing access is crucial to making sure that we don't see racial disparities within the world of colorectal cancer. Whites and Asians are significantly more likely to be up to date with their colonoscopies than African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans.
Research suggests that tailoring colon cancer screenings to each person's individual risk may be beneficial. If you are not yet 45 but have concerns about your risk, talk to your doctor. Ask about your individual risk based on your lifestyle and family history and find out when screenings would be right for you.
Symptoms of Colon Cancer
Colon cancer might not immediately cause symptoms, but there are signs to look out for.
Below are possible symptoms:
- A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool that lasts for more than a few days
- A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that's not relieved by having one
- Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
- Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
- Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain
- Weakness and fatigue
- Unintended weight loss
It is important to note, however, that displaying some of these symptoms does not mean you have colorectal cancer. You could also have colon cancer and not display any of these symptoms. Regardless, it is important to bring up any symptoms to your doctor should they arise.
Treating Colon Cancer at Stages One, Two and Three
It’s unclear exactly what stage Taylor Dayne’s cancer was at, but it’s nice to see that her necessary treatment was limited to surgery.
When it comes to treatment for colon cancer at stages one, two and three, there is the potential for a curative effect with surgical resection.
Colon Cancer Stages One, Two and Three
“As long as it hasn’t spread outside of the local area, it’s still considered a curable colon cancer,” Dr. Yeo told SurvivorNet.
According to Dr. Yeo, all patients with stage one to three colon cancers undergo surgery “if they’re healthy enough to tolerate it.” But there’s more nuance to the possibility of additional treatment for stages two and three.
“Stage 2 a little bit more in between,” she said. “It really depends on kind of the depth of the tumor into the colon wall and the risk that it has to spread.
If a stage two colon cancer has “bad features” identified by a pathology report, chemotherapy might be the right move.
“For example, if when they look at the pathology slides under the microscope, if they see that it’s involving some of the vessels nearby, then that is a higher risk factor,” she explained. “And then, those patients might be more likely to benefit from chemotherapy.”
Stage three colon cancers have spread to the lymph nodes. So, these patients “at least need a conversation of chemotherapy,” according to Dr. Yeo.
“For our patients with 3 or higher, they all need chemotherapy,” Dr. Yeo said.
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