Globally, colorectal cancer also called colon cancer or bowel cancer is the third leading cause of cancer. The frequency of colorectal cancer varies around the world; it is common in the Western world and rare in Asia and Africa. In countries where people have adopted the western diets has an increasing incidence of colon cancer.

The colon also known as the large bowel is the longest portion of the large intestine. The large intestine is the last part of the digestive tract, which is a tube that is about five to six feet in length; the first five feet make up the colon which then connects to about six inches of rectum, and finally ends with the anus. About three to eight hours after eating, by the time the food reaches the colon, the nutrients have been absorbed and the remainder is liquid waste product. The colon functions as a converter, changing this liquid waste into stool. The stool can spend anywhere from ten hours to several days in the colon before being expelled through the anus. It has been advised but not proven, that the longer the stool stays in the colon, the higher the risk of colon cancer.

Colon cancer includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. Many colon cancers are thought to arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-like growths are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time. This process can take years which allow time for early detection with screening tests.

Symptoms
Symptoms of colon cancer are numerous and non-specific. They include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, change in bowel habits, narrow stools, diarrhea or constipation, red or dark blood in stool, weight loss, abdominal pain, cramps, or bloating. Other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (spastic colon), ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulosis, and peptic ulcer disease can have symptoms that mimic colorectal cancer. Most often, these symptoms are not due to cancer, other problems can cause the same symptoms, so checking with your doctor should be done immediately to be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

The risk of colon cancer rises substantially after the age of fifty, but every year there are numerous cases reported in younger people. Individuals with a personal or family history of colon cancer, polyps, or inherited colon cancer syndromes (i.e., FAP and HNPCC), as well as patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, are all at higher risk and may require screening at an earlier age than the general population. A person with one first degree relative (parent, sibling or child) with colon cancer is two to three times as likely to develop the cancer as someone who does not have an affected relative.

The treatment depends on the staging of the cancer. When colon cancer is caught at early stages (with little spread) it can be curable. However when it is detected at later stages (when distant metastases are present) it is less likely to be curable. Surgery remains the primary treatment while chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may be recommended depending on the individual patient’s staging and other medical factors.

Every year in the United States alone more than 186,000 men, just diagnosed with a malignancy of the prostate, are hoping there is a prostate cancer cure. These one hundred and eighty six thousand men join an exclusive club of approximately 5 million others in the U.S. with prostate cancer. Out of the five million, approximately 28,000 will die each year from the disease of prostate cancer. However, thousands of others with a malignant prostate will die from other diseases and natural causes, but not from the effects of prostate cancer. This article will explore the truth about a prostate cancer cure.

Sidebar: This article is not intended as medical advice, nor should it be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. As always with a physical illness you should consult your personal physician right away. Please read on for more information. End of Sidebar.

At the present time there is no cure for prostate cancer. In other words no one treatment or combination of treatment has been found to be 100% effective in curing a malignant tumor of the prostate. But, nearly all men with the prostate disease can take hope. The primary reason for this hope is that many of these treatments and combination of treatments have been found to slow or stop the growth of the cancer for more than 5 years or longer.

As a matter of fact more than 98% of all men, with cancer of the prostate, will find themselves in total remission after being treated for the disease. Many of these same men will go on to live for more than 10 years or longer. Some Doctors have gone as far as to tell their patients they have experienced “a prostate cancer cure” when they have lived 10 years or longer. However, the same medical professionals continue to advise these men to be screened on a regular basis.

Primarily because of the risk of the same type of cancer returning or hidden cancer cells were not destroyed during the treatments. Thus allowing these cells to escape into the blood stream and perhaps infecting other organs or bones of the body. Again this type of cancer is so slow growing it may take years for it to manifest itself in other areas of the body.

Those in the medical community continue to believe that a prostate cancer cure is just around the corner, because of the above results and further research into the genetics of the cancer cell. Furthermore, other studies which are currently underway or looking at a vaccine that may prevent prostate cancer from occurring. It is hoped these studies will also shed additional light on a possible cure of the cancer.

Frankly, it is not difficult to visualize there being a complete cure within the very near future. Such great strides have been made over the last two decades in research and technology. Even as you are reading this article, new technology is on the drawing board which will advance overall treatment of prostate cancer and possibly lead to that ever elusive cure.

In conclusion if you are among the 186,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, you may well see a prostate cancer cure, long before it can kill you. In order to be one of those “cured” consult with your Doctors and stay informed.