Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Cancer · Social Security Disability
Also called colorectal cancer, rectal cancer, large intestine cancer, colon adenocarcinoma.
Colon or rectal cancer can support SSDI or SSI when pathology and staging meet Listing 13.18, when CAL processing applies to inoperable, unresectable, recurrent, or distant-metastatic large-intestine cancer, or when treatment effects rule out sustained work. A polyp, a successfully resected early cancer, or a colostomy by itself is not an approval.
What is Colon Cancer?
NCI describes colorectal cancer as cancer that starts in the colon or rectum, most often as adenocarcinoma. Staging depends on depth of invasion, lymph nodes, and distant spread, commonly to the liver or lungs. Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, or targeted drugs. Some people need a temporary or permanent ostomy. Recurrence can occur after apparently complete resection.
Common symptoms of Colon Cancer
- Change in bowel habits, blood in the stool, or abdominal pain
- Unintended weight loss or anemia
- Fatigue from disease or chemotherapy
- After surgery, ostomy care or frequency and urgency
- Pain, neuropathy, or infection risk during systemic therapy
How can Colon Cancer affect a person’s ability to work?
- Absences for surgery, infusion, radiation, and surveillance
- Off-task time from restroom urgency, ostomy leaks, or nausea
- Reduced lifting after abdominal surgery during recovery
- Neuropathy affecting standing or hand use after oxaliplatin or similar therapy
- Infection precautions during myelosuppressive treatment
Does Social Security have a Listing for Colon Cancer?
Social Security currently has listing criteria that may apply: 13.18 (Large intestine). Meeting a listing requires the specific medical findings in that listing, not only the diagnosis.
Listing 13.18 applies to the large intestine from the ileocecal valve to and including the anal canal. 13.18A is adenocarcinoma that is inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent. 13.18B is squamous cell carcinoma of the anus recurrent after surgery. 13.18C is metastases beyond the regional lymph nodes. 13.18D is small-cell (oat cell) carcinoma. Regional lymph-node involvement is not the same as 13.18C distant metastases. After anticancer therapy, SSA may need a longitudinal record when the listing’s treatment-response rules apply. Ostomy or treatment effects that do not meet 13.18 are evaluated through RFC. Small-intestine cancers are a different listing.
SSA applies Listing 13.18 to documented histology, resectability, recurrence, and spread beyond regional nodes. CAL software may flag distant-metastatic or inoperable/unresectable/recurrent large-intestine cancer. If the listing is not met, RFC addresses treatment and residual bowel or neuropathy limits. Ulcerative colitis is a separate digestive page; it is not a substitute for 13.18.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. Adjuvant chemotherapy, radiation, or lasting bowel dysfunction may preclude work even when 13.18 is not met.
What medical evidence may help document Colon Cancer?
- Pathology identifying adenocarcinoma, squamous anal carcinoma, or small-cell disease
- Operative reports stating resectability and margin status
- Oncology staging and imaging of nodes and distant sites
- Treatment timeline and recurrence notes
- Ostomy, nutrition, and neuropathy records for RFC
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- Surgical pathology and immunohistochemistry
- CT, MRI, or PET used for staging
- CEA interpreted with the clinical picture, not as a listing by itself
Dates of resection, adjuvant therapy, progression, and stoma creation belong in one timeline. Inoperable means a physician’s judgment that surgery would not be beneficial; unresectable is incomplete removal or positive margins as the listing and CAL POMS describe.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
Early-stage cancer that was resected and is in surveillance often fails 13.18. Residual restroom, ostomy, or neuropathy limits may still support RFC.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Colon Cancer
Omitting pathology; treating every colon cancer as a CAL condition; or confusing regional nodes with distant metastases under 13.18C.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
Pathology, a clear resectability or recurrence statement, and staging that distinguishes regional from distant disease.
Colon Cancer and related medical conditions
- Cancer — Cancer is evaluated under site- and type-specific listings in Chapter 13.00. A general cancer diagnosis is not one listing, and CAL status must be checked for the exact malignancy.
- Chronic Liver Disease — Listing 5.05 evaluates chronic liver disease by documented complications such as variceal bleeding, ascites, peritonitis, hepatorenal or hepatopulmonary syndrome, encephalopathy, or specified SSA CLD scores. A cirrhosis label is not an approval.
- Crohn’s Disease — Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. Listing 5.06 uses documented intestinal disease plus specified obstruction, laboratory, nutritional, perianal, or repeated-complication criteria.
- Pancreatic Cancer — SSA evaluates pancreatic carcinoma under Listing 13.20. Pancreatic cancer appears on the current Compassionate Allowances list. Islet-cell carcinoma has a narrower listing pathway. A diagnosis still requires medical evidence.
- Ulcerative Colitis — Ulcerative colitis is evaluated under Listing 5.06 for inflammatory bowel disease, the same listing that covers Crohn’s disease. Objective bowel evidence is required. The existing Crohn’s page and IBD article remain; this page is the UC-specific guide.
How Brock & Stout may help
We identify the correct 13.18 paragraph, verify CAL status for inoperable, unresectable, recurrent, or distant-metastatic disease, and develop treatment RFC when the listing is not met. We do not call CAL an automatic approval.
Frequently asked questions
Large-intestine cancer with distant metastasis, or that is inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent, appears on SSA’s current CAL list. Ordinary resected colon cancer without those features is not automatically a CAL condition. Verify the staging.
An ostomy is not a listing by itself. SSA may still find disability if Listing 13.18 is met or if residual restroom, lifting, or treatment limits rule out substantial work.
Related Brock & Stout resources
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Colon Cancer is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. We do not charge a fee for SSD representation unless we win.
This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
