The actor Adan Canto, best known for his work on Designated Survivor and other network dramas, died this week at just 42 years old following treatment for a rare form of intestinal cancer. Appendiceal cancer, which occurs in the appendix, is particularly uncommon in people under 50, says Dr. Alok Khorana, a medical oncologist and colorectal cancer researcher at the Cleveland Clinic.

The disease is about as mysterious as the organ itself, but there are a few key things that make it distinct from other cancers:

• Because the appendix doesn’t serve a critical function, no bodily process gets messed up when a tumor appears. In most cases, appendiceal cancer is spotted only after a burst appendix (or one causing significant pain) is removed and then tested.
• When it is caught early, appendiceal cancer can be easily treatable. No other organ in the body can be removed with next-to-no consequences.
• No screening process yet exists. Though the appendix is attached to the colon, a colonoscopy can't reach it, and there’s no real genetic component to the cancers that form there. Because of appendicial cancer’s random nature, Khorana says it’s important to never brush aside pressing GI concerns—especially pain in the lower right quadrant of your abdomen.

READ THE REST