Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is usually diagnosed on CT scanning, CT colonoscopy, or colonoscopy. If further therapy such as surgery or chemotherapy is being considered doctors usually prefer to have biopsies which prove the diagnosis beyond doubt since healthcare professionals are naturally reluctant to subject people to invasive and potentially harmful intervention without very clear evidence of likely benefit.

In any event a suspect diagnosis of colon cancer usually leads to consideration of further investigation to stage the disease. Decisions regarding treatment are usually based on a combination of the location, extent and symptoms related to the tumour and the general fitness and co-morbidities of the patient. It may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stenting of the tumour or supportive care alone. Such decisions are made in the UK following multi-disciplinary team (MDT) discussion. The MDT usually consists of a team of surgeons, radiologists, cancer specialists, dietitians, nurses and gastroenterologists amongst others.