Colon cancer is sometimes called colorectal cancer, which is a term that combines colon cancer and rectal cancer, which begins in the rectum. Many people with colon cancer experience no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. When symptoms appear, they’ll likely vary, depending on the cancer’s size and location in the large intestine. Feeling a persistent pain in this body region could mean you’re at risk.
Colon cancer begins when healthy cells in the colon develop changes in their DNA.
A cell’s DNA contains a set of instructions that tell a cell what to do. Healthy cells grow and divide in an orderly way to keep the body functioning normally.
