Getting rid of bodily waste and toxins is vital to maintaining a healthy body. So is the proper absorption of vitamins and electrolytes. All of these are accomplished by your colon. Thus, if your colon malfunctions, it can lead to a variety of health problems including constipation, IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, and diarrhea to name a few. An unhealthy colon may also lead to cancer.

Colon cleansing is an essential part of maintaining colon health. There are a number of ways by which you can do this but the best way is to cleanse your colon naturally through nutritional changes. Many illnesses have been prevented just by simply altering one’s eating habits. It is simple to do, fairly inexpensive, and in the long run will afford you other long-term health benefits.

Dietary Modification – The Natural Way to Perform Colon Cleansing

One dietary modification that you can do is to incorporate more fiber-rich foods into your meals. Fiber helps your body get rid of stool by helping it move along quickly through the colon.

Take in twice as many vegetables as you normally do. Not only would this cleanse your digestive system, but it would also aid in the absorption of important vitamins and minerals. Green leafy vegetables are some of the best foods that help clean the colon.

Make whole grains and oats a regular breakfast staple and increase your fruit intake. Refrain from eating refined foods such as white rice and food that use white sugar as an ingredient. These types of food slow down colon function.

Cut down on meat and eliminate dairy products from your diet. If you are a regular milk drinker, you may want to try switching to soy milk and other alternatives. Meals with chicken, turkey and fish may be included a couple of times a week as long as you balance them with an adequate amount of fiber.

Drink lots of water – eight to ten glasses is the recommended daily intake. Water is a natural lubricant and makes for soft stools. As an alternative, you can also drink fresh fruit juice, but be careful not to take in too much.

Using herbs is another natural way to cleanse the colon. Herbs help flush out feces, keep the colon muscle functioning well, improve bowel movement, prevent toxins from building up, and destroy harmful bacteria and parasites. Some of the most popular herbs used in colon cleansing recipes are psyllium, cascara sagrada, beet root, cayenne pepper, dandelion root, aloe leaf, and ginger.

Exercise also promotes colon health. Leading an active lifestyle helps the organs and muscles of the body function well. It also contributes considerably to efficient colon function. You can perform simple exercises such as brisk walking or go regularly to the gym.

Maintaining colon health doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive process. Commit to making a transition into eating healthier. Adopt some lifestyle changes and you may never have to worry about the risks of colon cancer.

After skin cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer, Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer type occurring in women across the globe. There are many types of colon cancer: Carcinoid Tumors, Lymphoma, Melanoma and Sarcomas. However, the most common of all the colon cancers is Colon Carcinoma.

A colon in the human body is a long, coiled tube shaped organ, which helps in removing water from the digested food. It is also called the large intestine or the large bowel having four sections: Ascending Colon, Transverse Colon, Descending Colon and Sigmoid Colon. Colon cancer is a type of cancer, which forms in the colon tissues. It is often referred to as colorectal cancer. Colon cancers usually are adenocarcinomas, which mean that they begin in cells releasing mucus and other type of fluids.

Who Are At Risk Of Having Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer is responsible for most of the deaths elated to cancer, but doctors say that an early diagnosis can reduce the risk. Immediate action can also lead to full cure of a patient. The risk of having colon cancer increases, if you:

1-Have cancer elsewhere in your body

2-Have a personal history of breast cancer

3-Have a family history of colon cancer

4-Have colorectal polyps, crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

Apart from the above stated reasons, the risk of having colon cancer also depends on your diet. Doctors say that chances of colon cancer may increase, if you are having red meat and a high fat with low fibre diet. Some genetic syndromes may be also responsible in developing colon cancer.

Symptoms of Colon Cancer

There are several symptoms indicating the presence of colon cancer in your body. Some of them include blood in your stool, narrow stools, tenderness & pain in the lower abdomen, unexplained anaemia, sudden weight loss, constipation, diarrhoea, intestinal obstruction and changes in bowel habits.

Take Immediate Action against the Menace

If you feel that you are having any of the symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. There are many physical exams, which needs to be done on your belly area. There are also imaging tests that are extremely helpful in diagnosing colon cancers. Again, tests similar to sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy confirm the presence of colon cancer.

One more test of detecting colon cancer is the fecal occult blood test (FEBT). After detection of colon cancer, additional tests known as staging is done to check the exact area in which the colon cancer has spread.

Treatment of Colon Cancer

The treatment of colon cancer is mainly dependent on the stage in which it has been detected. The most common treatments for colon cancer are chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy medicines kill the colon cancer cells, radiation therapy destroys the cancerous tissue present and surgery may be done to remove the cancer cells.

If treated at an early stage, nearly 90% of patients suffering from colon cancer may survive for minimum of five years after diagnosis. And in cases where the colon cancer does not recur within a period of five years, the patient is considered to be fully cured.

Did you know that in 2005 in the U.S.A., 26,781 men and 27,259 women died from colorectal (colon) cancer ?  Those are terrifying figures, yet they are true.  For men, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer after prostate and lung cancers. For women, this cancer is the third most common after breast and lung cancers.

Possibly we can reduce these statistics.  If everybody aged 50 or older had regular screening tests, as many as 60% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented.

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. Screening can find precancerous polyps, abnormal growths in the colon or rectum, so that they can be removed before turning into cancer. Screening also helps find colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure.

If you are aged 50 or older, or think you may be at higher than average risk for colorectal cancer, speak with your doctor about getting screened.

What is the Colon ?

The colon is the end portion of our digestive system.  It is where foods that are not digested by the small intestine are stored for several hours up to a few days.  Also, most of the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and water take place in the colon.  The bulks of food that are no longer in use and toxins that are present from the food, are then eliminated from the body in the form of the feces.

 

What is Colon Cancer ?

Colon cancer can simply be defined as the cancer of the colon or the large intestine. Most cases of this illness start as a small and benign clumps of cells in the intestine, which is known as adenomatous polyps.  As time goes by, these polyps multiply rapidly and develop into cancers.

Polyps are hard to detect in an early stage because they produce only a few symptoms. Sometimes, no symptoms are manifested not unless the condition is in its later stages. Once the signs of a cancer appear the individual experiences a change in bowel habits, persistent abdominal pain and cramping, accumulation of gas and presence of blood in the stool.

Why do People Develop Colon Cancer ?

When the healthy cells in the colon are altered, they become at risk for the development of cancer. To keep the body functioning normally, the cells need to grow and divide in an orderly manner.  There are really times when cells grow out of control, even if new cells are not needed by the system.

The most common cause of the development of this disease occurs when one has a history of the illness and polyps in the family. Other known causes are inflammatory bowel disease, high alcohol intake, diabetes, diet that is high in fats and cholesterol, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, and a diet that is deficient in vegetables, whole grains, and fruits.

 

What are the Available Colorectal Cancer Treatments ?

The three standard treatment options are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.

1. Chemotherapy – most oncologists recommend chemotherapy for colon cancers that are already in stage 2.  For stage 3 and stage 4 colon cancers, chemotherapy is still recommended but should be used in combination with biologic therapy in order to target specific cancer cells. The chemicals being used aids the body to get rid of the cancerous cells and prevent them from rapidly dividing. 

2. Radiation Therapy -individuals who are scheduled for surgery are advised to undergo radiation therapy to shrink the tumor.  After the surgery, another session of a radiation therapy is needed to prevent the tumor from ever coming back.  In some cases, there are tumors that can hardly be removed with surgery, so radiation therapy is used to destroy the cancer cells.

 

The most common type of radiation therapy that is used for the treatment of colon cancer is the external radiation. These kinds of therapies are quick but should be done frequently to insure that the cancerous cells are destroyed. 

3. Surgery – the most common surgery for colon cancer is the colostomy. Colostomy is a surgical procedure wherein the surgeon will create an opening in the abdominal wall, which becomes an alternative exit of wastes products from the colon.

 

“While colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States, it is the most preventable major cancer. Improvements in prevention, early detection, and treatment have greatly reduced the death toll from this disease,” said Dr. J. Randolph Hecht, clinical professor of medicine and director, GI Oncology Program, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and member of the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center.

Be sure to take care of your health. There is only one of you !