What Is Colorectal Cancer?
Colorectal cancer is often called colon cancer. It
is a common health problem in our community. In
the United States, it kills more people than any other
type of cancer except lung cancer. About 55,000
Americans die from colorectal cancer each year.
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Colorectal cancer affects
the “large intestine” which
is part of the body’s digestive
system. The digestive s
breaks down food so the
body can use it for ener
and for living. In the stomach
food is broken down and then
goes into the small intestine.
This is where the nutrients o
the food are taken into yo
body. The material that remains goes into the first
part of the large intestine (colon) where water is
removed and it becomes more solid. It then goes into
the last part of the large intestine (rectum) and
passes out of your body as stool (also called bowe
movements or feces). In the large intestine, the firs
part is called the “colon”, the section shaped like an
“S” is called the “sigmoid colon”, and the last section
is called the “rectum”.
Colorectal cancer is a problem with “cells” in
the large intestine. Our bodies are made up of
billions of tiny cells. Cells are
the basic unit of life. Cells are
the simplest units capable of
basic life functions. In their o
way, cells eat, produce waste
and reproduce. All living things
are composed of cells,
including flowers, animals and
people. Cells are very busy working in our
bodies; they do thousands of functions each
minute. Human cells are so small you need a
microscope to see them. 10,000 cells can fit on
the head of a pin! Although small, they contain
very complicated structures inside that control
their activities. There are over 200 different kinds
of cells in our bodies: for example, blood, skin
and muscle cells. Normal cells grow and make
more cells when needed. This keeps the body
healthy and working properly. Sometimes, things
go wrong and new cells are made that are not
needed. These extra cells can fo