According to Professor Jonathan Rhodes of Netdoctor, bowel cancer--known better as colon cancer--is a cancer of either the colon or rectum that affects the cells lining the bowel. While it is the second most common cause of cancer related deaths, bowel cancer is curable in 40 to 50 percent of cases.
Surgery
The surgical options for bowel cancer vary slightly depending on whether the cancer is in the colon or rectum. According to the American Cancer Society, surgery is often the main treatment for early stage colon cancer. The doctor typically removes the cancer, a piece of normal colon surrounding the cancer and lymph nodes. The doctor then sews the two ends of the colon back together.
Surgery is usually the main recourse for rectal cancer as well, however the options are broader. Some procedures, such as a polypectomy and local transanal resection, can be done without cutting into the skin. Instead the doctor inserts an instrument into the anus and removes small cancers.
If the cancer is close to the colon and in the upper area of the rectum, an abdominal incision is made and the doctor removes the cancer along with a small amount of normal tissue and surrounding lymph nodes. He then reconnects the rectum and colon.
Cancers in the lower rectum also require an abdominal incision, as well as an incision around the anus. The doctor then removes the anus and a colostomy is made. This is an opening of the colon in the front of the abdomen through which waste can exit the body into a bag attached to the area.
Radiation Therapy
The main purpose of radiation therapy, according to the American Cancer Society, is to treat people whose cancer has spread to an internal organ. If this happens, the doctor is unable to confirm that all the cancer is gone and therefore prescribes radiation therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells after surgery. This is done with high-energy beams that are aimed specifically at the site of the cancer. In some cases, a doctor may also use radiation to shrink a tumor prior to surgery.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of various medications that travel through the bloodstream to destroy cancer cells, and it has many purposes for bowel cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, chemotherapy can be used as a means of controlling the growth of tumors or to relieve the symptoms of colon cancer, or it can be used after surgery to kill any remaining cells. People with rectal cancer may receive chemotherapy treatments along with radiation. Because the drugs cannot differentiate between healthy and cancerous cells, they attack both. This results in unpleasant side effects such as nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
Targeted Therapies
Targeted therapy is a term referring to a medication or drug that targets a specific pathway in the growth and development of a tumor, according to Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The drugs a doctor prescribes for targeted therapy attack only the areas of the cancer cells that make them different from normal cells. The drugs used during targeted therapy have fewer side effects than chemotherapy drugs because they only affect cancer cells, although they can be used in conjunction with chemotherapy medications.
