BATON ROUGE — Colon and rectal cancer may be detected during the same screening, but they are treated differently, Mayo Clinic's Dr. Eric Dozois says.

"Our approach to rectal cancer, for example, often involves more aggressive treatments that help prevent it from coming back locally, like radiation therapy," Dozois said.

Innovation plays a strong role in rectal cancer surgery.

"We're using laparoscopic and robotic platforms to really offer patients surgery that is most up to date in terms of minimally invasive techniques, the least amount of trauma to the patient, but yet achieving the goals of surgery to remove the cancer."

If colon cancer is caught early, surgery may be the only treatment that's necessary.

"(But) even in some of the earlier stages, a more aggressive approach that combines chemotherapy, radiation and surgery is necessary to keep it not only from coming back locally, but from spreading to other parts of the body," Dozois said.