Colonic carcinoma is the third most common cancer in Finland. Cardinal symptoms include a change in bowel function and rectal hemorrhage. The first line treatment of this cancer, both localized and metastatic, is surgery. Before surgery, the patient is subjected to colonoscopy and computed tomography scanning of the body, and the concentration of carcinoembryonic antigen in serum is determined. The surgical operation aspires to a local radicality by excising the part of colon bearing the tumor along with the corresponding mesocolon. If metastases are detected in the mesenteric lymph nodes or elsewhere, use of chemotherapy is considered postoperatively.