Treatment is All Colon Cancer Stages
Colon cancer is the type of cancer that usually has no symptoms. If colon cancer symptoms do appear in a person, it will be a little too late, because he/ she is probably in a very advanced stage of colon cancer. This is the reason why, most of the doctors recommend screening at least one a year.
Colon cancer has five stages. Each colon cancer stage actually shows how far the cancer has spread. There are many ways to diagnose a colon cancer case, even in its most advanced stage. Colonoscopy, barium enema and even a digital rectum exam can tell a doctor if indeed you are suffering from colon cancer or polyps.
First stage in colon cancer is stage 0. In this colon cancer stage you can think of yourself as a very lucky person, because it can be cured. In this colon cancer stage, the disease has not spread beyond your colon or rectum. Treatment in this case is surgery. The part of your colon that has been affected will be removed. If you have a larger tumor, a resection might be the proper treatment for your colon cancer case.
The second colon cancer stage is known as stage 1. In this case, the cancer has not spread beyond the colon, but the cancer has grown through a few layers of your colon. Resection is the used treatments is this colon cancer stage. No further treatment is necessary.
Stage 2 is the next step in colon cancer. This time the disease has gone through the walls of your colon and affected the nearest tissues. In this colon cancer stage, the lymph nodes have not been reached yet. Resection is the only known treatment if you find yourself in this colon cancer stage. However, the rate of recurrence is very big in this case, so your doctor might also use radiation therapy. Chemotherapy can also be used in this colon cancer stage.
Next is stage 3 colon cancer. This is thought as an advanced stage. The lymph nodes are now affected by the disease. Other parts of your body have not been yet affected when suffering from stage 3 colon cancer. Sectional surgery is the right treatment at this point. Chemotherapy is then used to reduce recurrence. Radiation therapy can also be used in this colon cancer stage.
The last and most serious colon cancer stage is 4. In this case, the disease has reached as far as the lungs, ovaries and liver. When you have reached the stage, surgery is only used to relive the symptoms or prevent any further complications. In this case, the colon cancer can not be cured or even removed through surgery.
For more resource on different colon cancer subjects please click this link http://www.colon-cancer-center.com. You can also find valuable information about colon cancer or even about colon cancer symptoms
Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/treatment-is-all-colon-cancer-stages-132193.html
Filed under: treatment for cancer
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
See this article.
http://coloncancer.about.com/od/stagesandsurvivalrate1/a/Stage4ColonCanc.htm
It really depends on the extent of the metastasis and organs involved. Metastatic cancer almost always will have chemo and/or radiation involved unless there’s been an informed decision made to not treat.
References :
RN
Follow the suggestions of your oncologist. Get two opinions if you think you need to.
Here is a link to clinical trials if you want to try this route. Hit the map tab for local trials and don’t forget to turn the pages.
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=colon+cancer+stage+4
Probably both surgery and chemo, unless it is said to be "inoperable".
You could also try Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I do not have personal knowledge of them, but it sounds like they do traditional treatments with alternative/dietary treatments. There was a woman in their commercials who claims that they cured her of pancreatic cancer when her doctor told her she was going to die. I have heard they might be more expensive than other hospitals and that insurance might fight paying for treatment there though…
http://www.cancercenter.com/
References :
Stage IV: Cancer that has spread to other organs
Chemotherapy is also used to treat patients with stage IV colon cancer. Irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and 5-fluorouracil are the three most commonly used drugs. In addition, monoclonal antibodies, including cetuximab (Erbitux), panitumumab (Vectibix), and bevacizumab (Avastin) have been used alone or in combination with chemotherapy.(MedlinePlus)
Targeted drug therapy
Three drugs that target specific defects that allow cancer cells to proliferate are available to people with advanced colon cancer. The drugs bevacizumab (Avastin), cetuximab (Erbitux) and panitumumab (Vectibix) can be given along with chemotherapy drugs or alone. Bevacizumab works to prevent tumors from developing new blood vessels, which can deliver the oxygen and nutrients cancers need to survive. Cetuximab and panitumumab target a chemical signal that tells cells to divide and reproduce. Cetuximab was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2007 as a single-agent treatment for advanced colon cancer for which other treatments have failed. Panitumumab remains experimental.
Surgery for advanced cancer
If your cancer is very advanced or your overall health very poor, an operation to relieve a blockage of your colon or other conditions in order to improve your symptoms may be the best option. This type of surgery is referred to as palliative surgery. The goal of palliative surgery isn’t to cure your cancer, but to relieve signs and symptoms, such as bleeding and pain.
In specific cases where the cancer has spread only to the liver and if your overall health is otherwise good, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the cancerous lesion from your liver. Chemotherapy may be used before or after this type of surgery. This treatment may improve your prognosis. (MayoClinic)
You may receive just one type, or a combination of the drugs. Capecitabine is a chemotherapy drug taken by mouth, and is similar to 5-fluorouracil.
For patients with stage IV disease that has spread to the liver, various treatments directed specifically at the liver can be used. This may include:
* Burning the cancer (ablation)
* Cutting out the cancer
* Delivering chemotherapy or radiation directly into the liver
* Freezing the cancer (cryotherapy)
Please note that I am not a medical professional.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_cancer
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000262.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cancer/DS00035
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec02/ch021/ch021h.html#sec02-ch021-ch021f-1490
The below suggestions highlight why internet searches can be harmful to people. Unfortunately, the likelyhood is that with stage 4 (Dukes D) colonic cancer, there will be no curative treatment. It has spread to other organs, most commonly the liver, but also the lungs and potentially the bones. The latter two are less common, but are more common in rectal cancers.
Treatment options. Most of the time the primary bowel tumour will be removed, mainly to prevent the chance of obstruction of the bowel, which can obviously cause major problems. At the operation, the extent of the liver mets will also be assessed, sometimes using intra-operative USS, other times just manually feeling the liver. If there is a solitary lesion, or multiple lesions in one lobe of the liver, then there is a chance of curative treatment.
An MRI will usually be performed as it gives finer detail of the liver and ensures there are no other smaller mets not visible on CT or other modes of imaging. Post bowel surgery, normally give chemotherapy (several regimens available) and then re-scan to see if the liver disease has changed in the interval. If it is still deemed operable, then hepatectomy may be possible if there is enough residual liver left.
If as is most often the case, liver surgery is not possible, then post resection chemotherapy will be offered, with the hope of improving the survival.
If bowel surgery is not an option, then palliative chemotherapy will be offered, sometimes with radiotherapy depending on the site of the tumour, and the symptoms.
References :
Grizzler’s got the treatment described, I’ll comment your question about chances.
Sadly the survival rates for stage 4 colon cancer are low. This link will tell you more, but think carefully before going there. Statistics are just numbers. Some people do better, some worse. Only a doctor, knowing the details of the case, can give an opinion on chances.
http://coloncancer.about.com/od/stagesandsurvivalrate1/a/Stage4ColonCanc.htm
References :
It’s hard to say for sure without seeing the patient’s specific circumstances.
But there’s an explanation of the factors affecting the choice of treatments at http://www.cancerdoubts.com
References :
http://www.cancerdoubts.com
What is the best treatment for Colon cancer stage 4?
Wheter surgery or chemotherapy?
Else suggestion, please?
Thanks
some how there is a puncture in the liver
Thanx a lot
Thank you for the answer Grizzler….. I appreciated it much.
What is the % chances of success in Colon Cancer Treament?
Thanks heckkon….
Thank you Yagen