While many of the Crohn’s disease symptoms can cause discomfort or even pain, when a person starts exhibiting the symptoms of cancer brought on by the disease, it can be traumatic. In most cases, the onset of cancer occurs when the ulcers or the abscesses get out of hand. Though Crohn’s disease brings with it its own woes and problems, even the very hint of cancer tends to bring with it fear. Somehow, the ‘C’ word still comes with the feeling of dread attached to it. Unfortunately, Crohn’s disease is such a chronic ailment that when it gets out of hand in the intestine, there’s always the possibility of the cells around changing and becoming cancerous. The inflammation that Crohn’s brings is a dangerous breeding ground for other ailments too and cancer is one of the worst problems that can follow from this condition.

One of the cancers that can occur is colon cancer. In this case, there will have to be surgery but the good news is that very often a person can recover well after an operation that removes the infected part of the colon. Yet another area that could get affected by cancer is the liver. The ulcers and abscesses tend to block the bile ducts and this causes bacterial infections which damage the liver, leading to complications that could culminate in cancer. In this case, there could be an operation to remove the affected part or, if the damage done is great, a liver transplant will be required. Cancer that affects the bile ducts could also be a possibility.

The lowered resistance and weakness together with the infections and inflammation could result in cancers in other parts of the digestive tract as well – the mouth the food pipe, the rectum. Cancer usually occurs when the ailment has been a long-standing one and many years of complications that give rise to more infections and inflammation are usually cause enough to set the alarm bells ringing about cancer. However, if you suffer from Crohn’s disease, regular examinations are a must in order to detect anything untoward and take measures to tackle it as quickly as possible.