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Before learning about colorectal cancer, it is important to know where the colon and rectum are located. The colon and rectum are at the lower end of the digestive system. The colon, a muscular tube about five feet long, absorbs fluid to form solid waste. The rectum, the last six inches of the digestive system, serves as a warehouse for this waste until it is pushed out of the body.
Typically the first or right portion of the colon which is called the ascending colon moves up from the lower right portion of the abdomen. The next portion, or transverse colon, moves across from the right to the left side of the upper abdomen.