Colon cancer, also called colorectal cancer, is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States in both men and women. Routine exams and early detection are key factors in long-term survivorship. At MU Health Care, our team of experts supports you by helping you understand your risk level and offering monitoring and screening for people at risk of developing colon cancer.
Your dedicated care team will also be there for you through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. We work with you to create a treatment plan that fits your goals, personal medical history and lifestyle by offering a range of treatment options for all forms of colorectal cancer, including advanced, metastatic or recurrent cancers.
What causes colon cancer?
Cancer is a complex disease that may have multiple contributing factors or unknown causes. Like other forms of cancer, you may have a greater chance of developing colon cancer based on your lifestyle, medical history and family history.
If someone in your family has or had colon cancer, or if you have a bowel condition such as Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease or ulcerative colitis, you may be at an elevated risk of developing colon cancer.
Your cancer risk may also increase if you are a smoker or regularly consume alcohol, if you are overweight or diagnosed with obesity, or if you do not exercise regularly.
Why is colon cancer screening important?
Colon cancer was the third-most common cancer among men and women in the United States in 2024. Among men and women in Missouri, colon cancer has the second highest in disease prevalence and cancer death rate.
Screenings are the best tool available to reduce these numbers. Since 1970, routine screenings have helped increase colon cancer survival rates by more than 50%. If you are 45 or older and have not yet had a colon cancer screening, talk to your primary care doctor.
Symptoms of colon cancer are rare or hard to detect during early stages without screenings, when the disease is most easily treated. People with later stages of colon cancer may show symptoms such as bloody stool and new or worsening difficult bowel movements.
How We Diagnose Colon Cancer
Our experts offer several forms of early detection, including:
- Fecal occult blood tests, which examine your stool for blood that’s not immediately visible
- Computed tomography (CT) scans, which compile several X-rays to create a detailed picture of your lower digestive tract to identify tumors or other signs of potential disease
- Colonoscopies, which use a small, flexible instrument with a light and camera to check your colon and rectum for signs of cancer
- Sigmoidoscopies, which use the same instrument as colonoscopies to examine just the lower part of your large intestine
- Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), a minimally invasive procedure that can diagnose and remove cancerous and pre-cancerous tissue using a similar small, flexible instrument
Should I Get Screened for Colon Cancer?
Based on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, doctors recommend people at normal risk levels begin screening at age 45. If you have a family history of colon cancer or conditions such as irritable bowel disease or Crohn’s disease, your doctor may recommend you begin screenings early.
These guidelines recommend an annual fecal occult blood test, a sigmoidoscopy once every five years or a colonoscopy once every 10 years.
If you are older than 75, talk with your doctor about whether you should continue monitoring for colon cancer.
Colon Cancer Treatment at MU Health Care
Based on your diagnosis and medical history, your care team will create a treatment and recovery plan specifically for you. This may mean taking medications or undergoing chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumor, radiation therapy to damage the tumor, surgery to remove the tumor, or a combination of treatments.
Our specialists offer both laparoscopic and robotic surgery when appropriate. These minimally invasive techniques may lead to fewer scars, reduce your discomfort after the operation and lead to less recovery time in the hospital.
Advanced Treatment Options
Other treatment options available at MU Health Care include treatments that target your tumors directly. These treatments are sometimes called precision medicine because they can more accurately attack and destroy cancer cells with less damage to surrounding healthy cells. Precision medicine treatments are especially useful for patients who have advanced stages of cancer or cancer that has spread to nearby organs (metastasis).
Hepatic artery infusion (HAI) is used to treat colorectal cancer with liver metastases (CCLM), as well as bile duct cancers and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) that can’t be removed surgically. By delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to the hepatic artery, which supplies the liver with blood, more cancer-fighting medication is delivered to the area of the tumor. This can mean improved treatment outcomes and fewer side effects from chemotherapy.
Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a treatment for recurrent cancers, including colorectal cancers, that spread to the abdominal lining, or peritoneum. This treatment fills your abdominal cavity with a warm liquid that includes chemotherapy drugs for 1-2 hours, allowing the medication to get to areas of the body traditional treatments are not able to reach.
Why Choose MU Health Care?
At MU Health Care, our doctors and nurses have been caring for people with cancer for more than 80 years. As Missouri’s only state-designated cancer center and an academic health system, our experts use the most advanced technology and conduct leading-edge research to offer you the safest and most effective treatment options. These include clinical trials, precision medicine treatments and immunotherapy.
Our nurses and patient navigators strive to alleviate as much stress as possible during treatment, from coordinating all your appointments on the same day to walking with you between appointments so you get where you need to go.
Follow-Up Care
If you have your cancer treated at MU Health Care, we can help you coordinate your recovery with our dedicated cancer rehabilitation program. Our therapists work with you to support your recovery and lessen the side effects of treatment such as extreme tiredness.
After treatment, we will continue to monitor you for five years. This includes a combination of physical exams, bloodwork, colonoscopies and imaging studies when appropriate.
For more information about cancer care, please call our office or download our screening guide.
