This section is for people who have colon cancer and their families and friends. It will give you information - and guide you to links and resources- that can help you better cope with the disease, and, it is our hope, improve the quality of your life. It is good to have as much reliable information and help as you can when you are trying to understand treatment options and manage your disease.

Disease Care

There will be approximately 129,400 new cases of colon and rectal cancer diagnosed this year. While it may often seem to be a disease that effects men, it effects women at almost equal rates. The National Cancer Institute recommends screening for colon cancer beginning at age 50 for people with average risk. Screening tests are fairly simple and reliable, and early identification of colon cancer means better chance for survival.

Our Reach

The good news about colon cancer is that it is a highly treatable and often curable form of cancer when it is localized (contained) to the bowel. Surgery is the primary treatment and usually cures 50% of patients. How well you will do with colon cancer is clearly related to whether and how much of the tumor has gone through the bowel wall, and whether your lymph nodes have been affected.

The information in this section will come in handy when you are talking with doctors, trying to understand the complexities of the health care system, or confronting difficult feelings you may face along the way. With a better idea of the technical terms used in describing the disease and its treatments, it is our hope that you will grasp the information more quickly and be able to work more effectively with your health care team. We encourage you to jot down questions and notes as you read this section that may be important to discuss with your doctor at a later date, or print out the section first and make notes right on the page.

We also recoomend that youinvestigate natural ways to keep your colon healthy.Diet, of course is important as well you could investigate the range of natural colon cleansers that are available.

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