If the colon cancer has begun to spread through the colon, you may need more-extensive surgery. If so, your surgeon can do a segmental colectomy. This procedure removes several inches of your colon, including the part that contains the tumor. Your surgeon also removes nearby lymph nodes where the cancer might have spread. In most cases, your surgeon can reconnect your colon. Most people recover from a segmental colectomy quite well. Bowel function usually returns to normal in just a few months.