Cancer of the colon and rectum is a severe disease of the older age group, but its outlook is nearly four times better than cancer of the stomach and chances of its cure are better than 50 percent. An important factor of colon cancer as in cancer everywhere, is the question of spread of this


Fig. 91. Cancer of the colon is announced nearly half the time by rectal bleeding. It is a disease of senior years and can be treated satisfactorily when discovered early.

disease to the rest of the body. About the best thing that can happen in cancer of the colon, is to find it early before it has extended.

Discovering a colon cancer requires a physician for exact diagnosis, but we can help the physician, and ourselves, by watching for the symptoms which often accompany this disease. These symptoms though very common and frequently brushed aside, are worthy of notice.

Bleeding from the rectum is often the first indication of any trouble in the colon. Bleeding is most often caused by hemorrhoids and not by cancer, but it is always a sign that something is definitely wrong and the physician should be consulted at once.

A difference in the usual manner of bowel movements, occasional constipation or diarrhea is common in adult years, but these difficulties, if sudden and persistent, may signal definite colon trouble and an examination is in order.

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