What is colorectal cancer?
Most colorectal cancer starts in the cells that line the inside of the colon or the rectum. The colon and rectum are part
of your digestive system, where food is changed into energy and the body rids itself of waste matter.
The colon (known as the large bowel or large intestine) joins the small intestine to the rectum. Food moves from the stomach
to the small intestine, where your body continues to break it down. When food is completely digested, it moves from the small
intestine into the colon, where water is removed. The last part of the colon is known as the rectum. This is where waste is
stored. When you have a bowel movement, waste leaves the body through the opening called the anus.
Cancer of the small intestine is very rare, so when people talk about bowel cancer, they usually mean colorectal cancer.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer for both men and women in Canada
