Spotting colorectal cancer symptoms early is vital to the prognosis of the condition. In cancer, getting early treatment is very important. If the cancer has been spotted on time, measures might be taken to eradicate the cancer cells from your body. During the first stages of cancer development, your doctor might opt for surgery. This way, they would be able to remove the cancer cells from the body without harming your normal ones. Late stages of cancer would require chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This type of treatment would not only kill your cancer cells but would also affect your normal cells.

The symptoms of colorectal cancer usually depend on the location and the size of the mass. However, most of them are pretty much the same. So, how do we spot the symptoms of colorectal cancer? Here are the most common manifestations of the condition:

• Changes in bowel movements. Different people manifest different signs. For some, their stools are looser than usual. For others, they frequently experience constipation. There are also some that have reported not being able to defecate at all. Not being able to defecate for several days is what usually prompts them to go see a doctor.

• Bleeding. Bleeding is almost always a common symptom of cancer. This could be due to a variety of reasons. One would be because the tumor has swelled to a certain size and has ruptured certain capillaries or veins, thus causing the bleeding. Another would be that the tumor itself has ruptured. Bleeding in cancer may not always be evident. There would be times that you would really be able to see fresh blood but, more often than not, the bleeding might go undetected. Black stools are great indicators of intestinal bleeding. The black color of the stools comes from the mixture or blood with fecal matter.

• Narrow stools. Some medical practitioners refer to this as ribbon-like stools. This could be caused by the narrowing of your colon or rectal passageway. This narrowing is caused by the tumor growth in your intestines. Your stool would not be able to pass through properly, thus the change in their appearance. So, when do you get alarmed? If you observe that your stools start looking like pencils, or you start to notice that your stools look more different than usual, consult your doctor immediately. Do not wait for your symptoms to worsen.

• The feeling of wanting to defecate again after just defecating could be caused by a growth in your bowels. The feeling is caused by the mass bumping into the opposite intestinal wall. Your bowels' messages to your brain would cause you to think that this is fecal matter, and you would try to push it out.

These four manifestations would be the most common symptoms felt by a patient that is suspected to have colorectal cancer. When you notice that you are exhibiting these symptoms, consult your doctor immediately. This way, he would be able to recommend some laboratory tests so that he could make an accurate colon cancer diagnosis.

By Danica Susan

Whether a therapeutic technique is the best prostate cancer treatment for a patient depends on various factors. In selecting the treatment, a patient and his doctor should take into consideration the patient's age and expected life span, the stage and grade of the cancer, possible side effects and other health problems that the patient might have.

One of the best prostate cancer treatment techniques, particularly for older men and those who suffer from other serious illnesses, is the expectant management or watchful waiting method. Watchful waiting involves the close monitoring of the cancer through prostate specific antigen testing. It does not involve active treatments like surgery and radiation therapy and is recommended mostly to those who have no symptoms. It is also used when the cancer is contained within one area of the prostate gland and is expected to grow very slowly.

Another option available to prostate cancer patients is surgery. This can be radical retropubic prostatectomy, radical perineal prostatectomy, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). In retropubic prostatectomy, the surgeon makes an incision in the lower abdomen to remove the prostate gland. Lymph nodes around the prostate might also be removed depending on whether the cancer has spread to these parts.

In perineal prostatectomy, the incision is made in the perineum or the skin between anus and scrotum. LRP, on the other hand, involves the use of several smaller incisions and specialized instruments. This highly complex procedure is known for its high precision and control. In the hands of experienced surgeons, it becomes an advantageous option compared with retropubic and perineal prostatectomy. TURP, meanwhile, makes use of an instrument called a resectoscope which is passed through the end of the penis into the urethra at the level of the prostate. The electricity that passes through the instrument cuts or vaporizes the issue in the prostate. TURP is done to relieve symptoms and is also used for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Radiation therapy is the method in which high-energy rays or particles are used to kill cancer cells. This, like surgical procedures, is another example of a highly developed method of dealing with cancer. Radiation therapy is classified into two main types, the external beam radiation therapy (ERBT) and brachytherapy.

In treating localized prostate cancer, a procedure called crysosurgery is sometimes used. It involves the freezing of the tissues using very cold gases. Aside from cryosurgery, hormone therapy and chemotherapy are also options that prostate cancer patients can explore. Hormone therapy does not cure cancer but is primarily used to lower levels of male hormones in a patient's body. Chemotherapy, meanwhile, is a procedure more commonly used in cases when the cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland.

Choosing the best prostate cancer treatment depends on a lot of factors.

Other Prostate Cancer Treatments
Prostate exams are a simple and straightforward procedure and can be conducted in a doctors office without any need for medical equipment or urine or blood testing. Since every year an average of two hundred fifty thousand men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is very important that all men receive regular prostate exams. The necessity of receiving prostate exams also increases as one ages.

This first form of prostate cancer treatment is called Active Surveillance. It is the medical term for watching a patients cancer, but not taking action until the condition worsens or expands. Active Surveillance is used when a patient may not be able to undergo treatment because of complications from other conditions, or is otherwise unable to receive cancer treatment.

The most direct route form of prostate cancer treatment is to remove the entire prostate, a procedure known as a prostatectomy. An incision is made behind the pubic bone and a portion of the prostate or the entire gland itself is removed. The urethra is then connected directly to the bladder, but a catheter is often necessary in order to allow the patients body time to adapt to the new setup of its urinary system.

An MRI or CAT scan is used to plot the exact location of the tumor or affected cells, and intense bursts of x-rays are used to destroy these cells. Intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, is a form of radiation that can be used to full effect on the majority of the cancer cells, but can be toned back to lessen the danger to cells in proximity to the bladder or rectum.

Brachytherapy is another form of radiation therapy, albeit one that involves actually inserting objects into the body. Radioactive pellets or seeds are injected into the prostate, and the radiation that they emit kills the cancer-infected cells. After a period of time, the radioactivity of these seeds fades, and the leftover pellets are completely harmless.

Another prostate cancer treatment is called hormone therapy, and involves restricting the amount of testosterone that the body produces or that is directed to help the prostate gland grow. The most extreme version of this procedure is called orchiectomy, and involves actually removing the testicles. Since they produce ninety-percent of the bodys testosterone, this method is very effective, but considering that the testicles must be removed, most men opt for another procedure.

As with other forms of cancer, chemotherapy is also an option. However, up until fairly recently, chemotherapy was considered only as an option for men who have stopped responding to other prostate cancer treatments. New studies are being conducted using chemotherapy drugs. These drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This new form of chemotherapy is used specifically to fight prostate cancer.

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer is by no means a small matter, but with modern prostate cancer treatments, there are many different options, and ones chances for survival are extremely high.