Treatment Options
The most common treatment for rectal cancer is surgery to remove the tumor along with part of the healthy surrounding tissue and nearby lymph nodes. For patients with stage II or III rectal cancer, radiation therapy is usually combined with chemotherapy treatment, and may be given before or after surgery.
Depending on the particular location of the rectal cancer, patients may need to have a colostomy, a surgical opening through which the colon is connected to the outside of the abdomen, providing a pathway for waste to leave the body, which is then collected in a bag worn by the patient. Sometimes, the colostomy is only temporary to allow the rectum to heal, but it may be permanent. With modern surgical techniques and the use of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in selected cases before surgery, most people treated for rectal cancer do not require a permanent colostomy.
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