Tommy Chong Reveals Rectal Cancer Battle: Risks, Symptoms & What You Need to Know About the Condition

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Tommy Chong, one-half of "Cheech & Chong," revealed that he is battling cancer once again.

"I've had some medical issues lately," Chong, 77, told US Weekly in an interview on Tuesday. "I got diagnosed with rectal cancer."

"I'm using cannabis like crazy now, more so than ever before," the famed comic said. "I'm in treatment now. I've been - just the case either way, either I get healed or I don't. But either way, I'm going to make sure I get a little edge off or put up," he told the magazine.

Chong also took to Twitter to announce his fight with the big C.

"I have good news and bad news. First the bad news, the cancer came back and it's a real pain in the butt," he tweeted. "The good news is I now have to use more marijuana to treat the cancer."

He will also update his fans about his condition and will document his battle against cancer on the "Chong & Chong" podcast.

In 2012, he was diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer. Chong, who is a marijuana activist, told CNN at the time that he supports legalizing cannabis more than ever because he was using it as medicine.

Rectal cancer is a condition where cancer cells form in the tissues of the rectum, the last part of the large intestine where solid waste leaves the body through the anus. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 39,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2015.

Signs and symptoms of rectal cancer include blood in stool, diarrhea, constipation, sudden weight loss, tiredness, bloating and general abdominal discomfort.

The risk of getting this disease increases when a person is 50 and older, has a medical history of polyps, colorectal and other certain cancers in the ovary, breast or endometrium or is related to a family member who has a personal history of the diseases mentioned above.

A person is also at risk when they have inherited conditions such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC or Lynch syndrome), according to National Cancer Institute.

Rectal cancer diagnosis can be made through physical exam and checking of health history, digital rectal exam and colonoscopy. The treatment for rectal cancer varies by stage or recurrence. Depending on the progression of the disease, rectal cancer treatments include polypectomy (polyp removal), surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.