Colorectal Cancer.
In Their Own Words.
Colorectal cancer begins in the colon or the rectum, often as a polyp that grows slowly over years. Here, people who have lived it tell you what the pamphlets leave out.
Journeys From People Who Have Been Where You Are
Every story here was told by the person who lived it, then retold with their approval. Filter by where you are in your own journey.
Understanding the Diagnosis
Plain-language science, written for the week you were diagnosed — not for a journal.
Colorectal cancer starts in the lining of the large intestine — the colon (its longest part) or the rectum (the final several inches). Most cases begin as an adenomatous polyp, a small growth that can turn cancerous over years. That slow timeline is why screening works: a polyp found early can be removed before it ever becomes cancer.
- Blood in or on the stool
- A lasting change in bowel habits
- Cramping or abdominal pain that won't settle
- Unexplained weight loss or fatigue
- A feeling that the bowel never fully empties
- Colonoscopy with biopsy — the definitive test
- CT of chest, abdomen and pelvis for staging
- Pelvic MRI for rectal tumours
- CEA blood marker as a baseline
- Biomarker testing: MSI/MMR, RAS, BRAF
Average-risk adults should begin screening at 45. Family history, inflammatory bowel disease, or a known syndrome such as Lynch means earlier and more often. Rates in adults under 50 are rising — symptoms at any age deserve a scope, not a shrug.
How stages are described
Abnormal cells sit only in the innermost lining. Often removed entirely during colonoscopy.
The tumour has grown into the bowel wall but no further. Surgery alone is usually curative.
Through the wall of the colon or rectum, but not into nearby lymph nodes. Chemotherapy may be added depending on risk features.
Cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes. Surgery plus chemotherapy is standard; rectal tumours often get radiation or total neoadjuvant therapy first.
Spread to distant organs — most often liver or lungs. Treatment is systemic and increasingly biomarker-guided; some people are candidates for surgery of metastases.
Staging language is simplified here. Your pathology report is the authority — bring it to every appointment. Clinical content on this page is pending final review by our medical advisory panel.
Community Resources
Organisations our community has vetted, for the parts of this that happen outside the clinic.
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