by: Matt Murren

If you have been recently diagnosed with Colon Cancer, or otherwise known as “colorectal cancer” you are probably looking into and researching possible treatments. If your condition is advanced you will more than likely require Colon Cancer Surgery to remove the tumor or growth.

How Does Colon Cancer Develop?

Colon cancer typically develops from polyps found in the colon and rectum. These tumors un-detected can turn into very advanced forms of cancer and can spread throughout the body.

What Does the Surgery Entail?

There are multiple types of Colon Cancer surgeries to remove the cancerous tumor. Most often, curative surgery methods are used which entails removing the polyp from the colon. If your tumor is in an advanced stage, it will require that the section containing the cancerous growth is removed and the remaining parts of your colon are fused together.

Before the surgery begins, the colon is cleansed completely in order to reduce any risk of infection. The cleansing is done using strong laxatives and enemas or by drinking one gallon of a cleansing fluid the night before the surgery.

The surgery is always done under general anesthesia while the patient is asleep. With new medicinal technologies like laparoscopy, the incision is hardly noticeable once it heals. After the abdomen is entered, the infected part of the colon is removed by surgery and the remaining parts of the colon are connected, fused or anatomized together.

If the cancer occurs in the lower rectum or anus, the doctor might have to make another incision in the rectum or near it. Since the cancer occurs towards the end of the rectum, there may be no colon left after the surgery to attach the remaining colon to. If such an incident occurs, then the remaining colon is rerouted to outside the abdomen. This is known as colostomy. This is usually done when the surgeon thinks that the anastomosis will not be successful or if the colon is not clean enough.

What can I expect after surgery?

Depending on the severity of your case, you may require chemotherapy to continue the treatment of the cancerous growth. If you have detected the cancer early enough, the simple removal of the polyp may be enough and you will not require chemotherapy.

Your doctor and surgeon will want you to follow-up with several exams to determine the success of your surgical procedure.

Your post operative follow-ups are critical to the healing process. It is important during this period that you verify all the cancer has been removed and has not metastasized to other parts of your body.

The key is early detection.

What can I eat after my operation?

It is not advisable to become eating directly after your procedure. More than likely you will be fed with a feeding tube to let your GI and small intestines heal properly in the first few days following your surgery.

The proper diet is critical to your healing process. A good diet will help your immune system and will help you decrease the risk of infection which can occur after your surgical procedure.

Your physician will help lay out a solid diet with a nutritionist. Make sure you follow their advice. You will notice that your appetite will vary from day to day after the surgery, but do the best you can to eat normal and do not force yourself to eat if your body is telling you not to. Smaller meals might be better than three large meals while you are healing.

Try your best to avoid greasy foods. These will upset your stomach after your operation. In addition, fluids are extremely important. Make sure you get at least eight (8) glasses of water a day and plenty of fluids while you recover.

About The Author

Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.colon-cancer-surgery-advisor.com Colon Cancer Surgery

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By: Donald Saunders

The PSA test is a blood test that is Often carried out as a screening test to detect the presence of a swollen prostate and of prostate cancer. Though the test cannot in itself be used for diagnosis it is a good indicator and, in combination with other tests, PSA test can point to the need for additional investigation.

The PSA test is usually recommended for men in high risk groups (like those with a family history of the condition) once they reach the age of about 40 to 45 and for men in general after they reach the age of 50.

A single PSA test in isolation will give a snapshot of prostate specific antigen levels in the blood and might indicate a problem immediately if you have particularly high psa numbers. However, in most cases, and when a prostate problem may be in its early stages of development, a single PSA test result will prove to be inconclusive and a further test will normally be suggested in a few weeks time. In fact, ideally PSA testing should be carried out at regular intervals 2 or 3 times each year so PSA levels may be viewed over time.

Provided that you have a normal PSA score then all is well, but when your PSA levels begin to rise they must be monitored closely. The speed at which PSA levels rise is normally called the 'PSA velocity' and providing the rise is steady and the velocity slow then it is once again frequently sufficient simply to watch the situation as numerous things can influence levels of PSA and seemingly increasing levels will frequently fall back to normal given time.

However, when PSA levels begin to increase rapidly and the velocity is said to be high then further investigation is certainly necessary.

This pattern of PSA testing and monitoring has been performed for some time but, although the test has always been considered to be a good indicator of the need for additional investigation, it was not until quite recently that we have been in a position to link specific PSA velocity to prostate cancer in a way that can indicate how aggressive prostate cancer is.

In a study conducted recently data concerning 950 men with prostate cancer who had undergone either surgery of radiation treatment at four hospitals between 1988 and 2004 was carefully scutinized.

In all cases each patient had been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer on the basis of an isolated very high PSA score, a noticeable rise in PSA velocity during the year before diagnosis, an advanced stage tumor, a biopsy showing signs of an aggressive cancer at cellular level or a combination of two or more of these signs.

This study also looked at the post-treatment outcomes for all of the patients and found that a rapidly increasing PSA level that rose by 2 points or more in a twelve month period was the best indicator or an aggressive cancer.

Up until now we have been able to connect increasing PSA levels with the possible presence of prostate cancer but it has been necessary to guess to a fair degree about whether or not such a cancer might be aggressive and require correspondingly aggressive treatment.

However, now we are able to say with reasonable certainty that where a PSA level rises by 2 or more points in a twelve month period then prostate cancer is almost certainly aggressive and requires speedy and vigorous treatment.

ProstateProblemCenter.com provides information on the free PSA test and on PSA normal score

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

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