Usually rectal cancer patients think they have some kind of hemorrhoid and come to the doctor's office to see what's going on.
If the doctor determines that this lump that the patient is palpating is a malignancy and not a hemorrhoid, he simply needs to take a small biopsy and then schedule the patient for an MRI and CT scan plus a colonoscopy to stage the disease.
Under no circumstances should he try to remove the tumor because rectal cancer usually infiltrates the sphincter causing the patient to have incontinence and also altering the test results. Images like the ones below that I see in my office should be avoided because it can do more harm than good to the patient.
The rectal cancer it responds very well to radiation and chemotherapy and usually disappears without the need for surgery.
In general, we must keep in mind the rule that when there is a suspicion of malignancy (cancer), first the patient is staged, a complete check-up, tests, a biopsy and then you decide on a more therapeutic protocol that we will follow in collaboration with the oncologist.
In case of malignancy (cancer) always refer to specialized surgeons and oncologists.