Is There Treatment for Colorectal Cancer?

There is no single treatment plan for colorectal cancer. Treatment depends on whether the cancer is in the colon or rectum, its stage, its biological features, and the person’s general health.

What Are The Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Treatment Options?

Part of these cases only require surgery, particularly when the cancer is detected early, while others may require a combination of treatments to remove the cancer, reduce the risk of it returning, or manage its progression. Doctors also consider how different treatments may affect a person’s daily life, recovery, and long-term wellbeing.

Treatment decisions are therefore made with the individual’s needs and circumstances in mind, with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome.

Surgery

To remove the cancer and sometimes nearby lymph nodes (filter glands)ed 65+ living with Alzheimer’s

Chemotherapy

Uses medicines to destroy or slow cancer cells

Radiotherapy

Particularly when the cancer is in the rectum

Targeted therapy

Aimed at specific features of cancer cells

Immunotherapy

Helps the immune system attack selected cancer cells

Some people need a temporary or permanent stoma, an opening that allows stool to leave the body through the abdomen into a pouch.

Whether a stoma is needed depends on the location of the cancer, the operation, and how the person heals. Having a stoma can be an important part of treatment, and specialist nurses can help people learn how to manage it.

Caring for Someone With Colorectal Cancer (CRC)

Caring for someone with colorectal cancer can be difficult, especially when the person is a parent, partner, sibling, or close friend.

You may watch them lose energy, change physically, struggle with pain or bowel problems, or need help with everyday tasks. They may also seem less independent, more anxious, or unlike the person they were before treatment.

That can bring complicated feelings. You may miss the way life used to be, feel frightened about the future, or even feel guilty for finding things difficult. These feelings do not mean you love the person any less.

Caring may involve helping with appointments, meals, transport, medication, household tasks, or personal care. It also means listening and allowing the person to talk about ordinary life when they do not want to talk about cancer.

Do not try to carry everything alone. Ask family and friends for help, speak to the healthcare team, and make time to rest. Looking after yourself is not selfish. Carers need support too.

Life Beyond the Diagnosis

A cancer diagnosis can change the way someone sees their body. It can change how they think about the future, relationships, work and even ordinary symptoms.

Finishing treatment does not necessarily mean that everything immediately feels normal again. Some people worry whenever they notice a new ache. Others need time to rebuild their strength or adjust to changes in their bowel function. Some may be learning to live with a stoma. Others may be trying to return to work or activities they enjoyed before treatment.

Recovery is not always a dramatic moment where everything suddenly goes back to normal. Sometimes it is much quieter. Getting stronger. Finding a routine. Going to a follow-up appointment. Eating comfortably again. Returning to work. Laughing without thinking about cancer for a few hours. Making plans again.

These things may seem ordinary from the outside, but after cancer, ordinary can feel significant. Colorectal cancer does not have one single story. Some people are diagnosed early and respond well to treatment. Others live with advanced disease for years while receiving ongoing care.

Perhaps the most useful thing we can do is avoid treating every bowel symptom as a reason to panic- while also not dismissing symptoms simply because they seem small.

A stomach ache is not automatically cancer.

A change in bowel habits is not automatically cancer.

But changes that come and do not go away deserve attention.

Our bodies do not always give us dramatic warnings. Sometimes the signs are small, ordinary, and easy to explain away.

And sometimes, paying attention early is exactly what gives us more options later.

Go beyond the medical facts and discover the real experiences, challenges, and lessons of people living with colorectal cancer through Healthful Heroes’ CRC Voices.

↩ Back to Healthful Heroes Journal

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About colorectal cancer. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/colorectal-cancer/about/index.html. Accessed October 1, 2026.
American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer signs and symptoms. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-and-symptoms.html. Accessed October 3, 2026.
National Cancer Institute. Cancer Stat Facts: Colorectal cancer. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Available at: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/colorect.html. Accessed October 3, 2026.
National Cancer Institute. Colon cancer treatment (PDQ®): Patient version; rectal cancer treatment (PDQ®): Patient version. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/colorectal/patient/colon-treatment-pdq. Accessed October 2, 2026.
American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer risk factors. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html. Accessed October 3, 2026.
Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Live Navigator Helpline. Available at: https://colorectalcancer.org/resources-support/resources/live-navigator-helpline. Accessed October 4, 2026.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorectal cancer screening. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/colorectal-cancer/screening/index.html. Accessed October 4, 2026
National Cancer Institute. Support for cancer caregivers. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/caregiver-support. Accessed October 3, 2026.
American Cancer Society. Living as a colorectal cancer survivor. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/after-treatment/living.html. Accessed October 3, 2026.
Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Screening & Prevention. Available at: https://colorectalcancer.org/screening-prevention/get-screened-45. Accessed October 5, 2026.

Nothing on this page is medical advice. Always discuss your options with your own care team.

Quick Links

Useful Links

Contact Info

HealthfulHeroes.com is maintained by Healthful Stories, Inc. (EIN 85-3699881), a Seattle-based non-profit 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organization. This site is purpose-built to chronicle individual health journeys to inspire and empower, reducing global suffering, one life at a time.