In a fulguration, the surgeon uses a special tool inserted into the colon or rectum through the anus. An electric current is then used to burn the tumor away. In a bowel resection, the surgeon takes out the cancer and a small amount of healthy tissue on either side. The healthy parts of the bowel are then sewn together. The physician will also remove lymph nodes and have them looked at under a microscope to see if they contain cancer.
Cryosurgery kills the cancer by freezing it.
Hepatic artery embolization uses drugs or other agents to reduce or block the flow of blood to the liver to kill cancer cells growing in the liver. In chemotherapy, the physician uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the digestive system. In biological therapy, the physician tries to get the patient's body to fight the cancer.