My mother died of bowel cancer when I was a teenager, it has spread to her bladder, lungs and liver. I still wonder how it actually killed her. What went wrong that stopped her heart pumping and lungs breathing?
In: Biology
What is colon or rectum cancer?
Cancer can start any place in the body. Cancer that starts in the colon or rectum is often called [colorectal cancer](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/what-is-colorectal-cancer.html). It starts when cells in the colon or rectum grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. This makes it hard for the body to work the way it should.
Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells in the colon or rectum can sometimes travel to the liver and grow there. When cancer cells do this, it’s called metastasis (pronounced meh-TAS-tuh-sis). To doctors, the cancer cells in the new place look just like the ones from the colon or rectum.
Cancer is always named for the place where it starts. So when colorectal cancer spreads to the liver (or any other place), it’s still called colorectal cancer. It’s not called liver cancer unless it starts from cells in the liver.
## The colon and rectum
Colon cancer starts in the colon, and rectal cancer starts in the rectum. These are both part of the digestive system. This is where food is broken down to make energy and where the body gets rid of solid waste (poop or stool).
In most cases, colon and rectal cancers grow slowly over many years. We now know that most of those cancers start as a growth called a polyp. Taking out the polyp early may keep it from turning into cancer.
## Are there different kinds of colon and rectum cancers?
There are [a few kinds of colon and rectum cancers](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/what-is-colorectal-cancer.html). Your doctor can tell you more about the kind you have.
The most common kind is called adenocarcinoma (AD-uh-no-KAR-sin-O-muh). This kind starts in the cells that make mucus to cover the inside surfaces of the colon and rectum.
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## [https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/if-you-have-colon-rectal-cancer.html](https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/if-you-have-colon-rectal-cancer.html)
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