Colorectal cancer is the world's No. 1 colorectal cancer, and early detection is the only way to do it

Advanced stages of colon cancer

When patients are first diagnosed with colon cancer, they often use expressions such as early or late stage to ask about the stage of its progression. However, the exact stage of colon cancer is expressed using radix.

First, colon cancer goes through an adenoma (polyp) stage. An adenoma or polyp is a precancerous lesion that is technically different from cancer. Once this stage is passed, colon cancer is finally distinguished. Cancer is confined to the mucous membrane of the large intestine in stage 0~1, metastasis beyond the large intestine to other tissues is classified as stage 2~3, and metastasis to distant organs such as liver, lungs, peritoneum, bones, and brain is classified as stage 4.

However, colorectal cancer, which falls from the adenoma stage to the early stage of the first stage, can be treated with endoscopic treatment without resection of the intestine, and there is a high probability that there will be no recurrence or metastasis for 5 years after treatment, so it is called early colorectal cancer.

Colorectal Cancer Symptoms

Early colon cancer unfortunately has no obvious symptoms. This is because the tumor is small in size and is confined to the mucous membrane and does not affect bowel movements. It is only after colon cancer has progressed to a certain extent that symptoms appear through the stool. Bloody stools, constipation, loose stools, thin stools, and indigestion are typical symptoms of colon cancer. However, these five symptoms are not a definitive criterion for colon cancer because they can occur on a daily basis and are much more likely to be mild anal disease that is hemorrhoids or similar to hemorrhoids.

Diagnosis of colon cancer

Diagnosis of early colon cancer can only be made by colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is a challenging test, but despite this, many specialists emphasize the importance of colonoscopy in order to diagnose early colon cancer. If you can get rid of the early colon cancer for a day, the benefits will outweigh the risk of having to have your bowel removed after 2~3 years.

Currently, colorectal cancer health screenings recommend that patients undergo colonoscopy if they are diagnosed with a positive fecal occult blood test*. In this case, it is not an absolutely reliable method because there is a risk of missing out on colorectal cancer patients who have a negative fecal occult blood test.

*Fecal occult blood test: A diagnostic method to check if there is blood in the stool.

Korea ranks first in the world in the incidence of colon cancer among young patients in their 30s~40s, so it is recommended to have a colonoscopy as early as possible. In particular, if you have colon cancer in your family or are exposed to a lot of risk factors for colon cancer, such as meat and alcohol, you should consider it.