Colorectal cancer

For a lay person:

Colorectal cancer is cancer of the large bowel (colon) or rectum, usually developing slowly from small growths called polyps. It is more common with age, a family history, inflammatory bowel disease and diets high in red and processed meat. Screening can find it early, when treatment works best.

For a trained medical person:

An adenocarcinoma usually arising via the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, with hereditary syndromes (Lynch, familial adenomatous polyposis) in a minority. Diagnosis is by colonoscopy with biopsy and CT staging, with MRI for rectal tumours; iron deficiency anaemia or a positive faecal immunochemical test prompts investigation. Treatment is surgical resection, with chemotherapy and, for rectal cancer, radiotherapy according to stage, and targeted therapy or immunotherapy in advanced disease.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Steaming Damp-Heat; Spleen Deficiency with Excess Damp; Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency; Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: This needs specialist surgical and oncology care; Chinese medicine is adjunctive at most. See a doctor for rectal bleeding or a lasting change in bowel habit, get emergency care for severe tummy pain, vomiting or inability to pass stool, and check herbs with your oncologist during chemotherapy.