Understanding Rectal Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Rectal Cancer

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

General

Rectal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the rectum. The rectum is part of your body’s digestive system, which process food and helps pass waste material out of the body. Together, the rectum and anal canal make up the last part of the large intestine and are 6-8 inches long. Rectal cancer often begins as a growth called a *polyp* inside the large intestine, that slowly evolved into a malignant tumor. Like most cancer types, rectal cancer is divided into stages, according to how much it has spread out of the intestine into the rest of your body.

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Signs & symptoms

Signs of rectal cancer include blood in the stool, change in bowel habits (size, texture or frequency), abdominal pain and weakness. These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by colon cancer or by other conditions.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and perform a physical exam including a digital rectal exam. The following tests might be done next: -*blood tests* to check for any abnormalities and tumor markers -*Colonoscopy*- a procedure to look inside the rectum and colon for polyps, abnormal areas, or cancer. If abnormal area was found, a *biopsy*, in which a small piece of tissues is taken out so it can be viewed under a microscope, will be done. -*Imaging tests* such as a *CT scan*.

Treatment

There are different types of treatment for patients with rectal cancer. The treatment depends on the type of cancer, its stage and your general health: -*Surgery* – to remove the cancer -*Chemotherapy*- medication that will kill cancerous cells or stop their growing. -*Radiation therapy*- high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation used to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. It is often done before surgery to shrink the tumor. -*Targeted therapy*- drugs or other substances that are aimed to attack specific cancer cells.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

Latest Discussions

ValCal

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Living with a Permanent Bag Due to Rectal Cancer

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Pray, pray, pray stay strong- I had **cancer** in 2013...

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Stage 1 rectal cancer in March of this year. No...

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Living with Terminal Cancer: My Journey So Far

Living with a Permanent Bag Due to Rectal Cancer

Pray, pray, pray stay strong- I had **cancer** in 2013 I beat it.🙏

Stage 1 rectal cancer in March of this year. No treatments were needed / recommended. Only a flexible sigmoidoscopy with resection was performed to remove the **tumor**. Recent Labs and imaging back clear 🙏. I am so thankful, my monitoring will be over the next 5 years.

I have carcinoid cancer of my colorectal area & had to get the **tumor** resected 3x in a year.. by the 2nd they told me I have to resected my rectum. The fear of the other shoe dropping is quite normal especially with a diagnosis that has cancer in it. I’m really claustrophobic as well & I just close my eyes & try to remember scenes of my favorite movies to occupy my mind, you’ll figure out what works for you ☺️☺️

My colorectal cancer symptom was large amount of bleeding( more than a pint) over two days. My tumor was at my rectum, so it was bright red. The farther the **tumor** is up in the colon, the blood is less red.

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