Where Cancer Goes: The Stages Of Colon Cancer

The chances of survival of a colon cancer patient usually depend on how extensively cancer has spread to other parts of his body. In determining the patient’s prognosis, doctors follow a process called ‘colon cancer staging,” a necessary step in choosing an appropriate treatment.

Colon cancer stages

Colon cancer used to be rated using the five-level Duke’s system, but was recently reclassified into five stages. The basics of the colon cancer stages are as follows:

Stage 0: Also called ‘carcinoma in situ,” carcinoma referring to a cancer that started in epithelial tissue and in situ meaning original position or place. In this stage, the cancer is restricted to the innermost lining of the colon and has not moved yet from its area of origin.

Stage 1: Under the old classification system, this stage is known as Duke A. In this stage, the cancer has extended into the middle layers of the colon.

Stage 2: Colon cancer has spread beyond the middle layers of the colon or has extended into the rectum and other nearby tissues, but has not reached the lymph nodes. This used to be known as Duke B colon cancer.

Stage 3: Formerly known as Duke C, is a cancer that has already traveled into at least three lymph nodes, but not into any other parts of the body.

Stage 4: This is the most advanced cancer stage. In this stage, formerly known as Duke D colon cancer, the cancer has spread into other body organs like the liver or lungs.

Determining Colon Cancer Stages

Doctors determine the colon cancer stages using various tools and procedures, such as the following:

CT scan. This is a specialized type of X-ray that provides detailed pictures of areas inside the body. Patients are usually injected with dye before they are subjected into an x-ray machine linked to a computer.

Endorectal ultrasound. This involves the insertion of an ultrasound probe into the patient’s rectum. The probe uses sound waves that bounce off the rectum and nearby tissues, creating echoes that an attached computer forms into a picture showing how deeply or extensively the cancer has spread.

Colonoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor uses a colonoscope, a slim, flexible tube that is inserted into the rectum. This is used to take a sample or biopsy of the abnormal tissues which will be examined for cancer cells.

Lymph node biopsy. Checking the lymph nodes are reliable indicators of how far the cancer has traveled inside the patient’s body. Lymph nodes are typically the first body organs where colon cancer spreads, and show signs of hyperactivity especially when fighting off infections brought by cancer.

CEA Assay. CEA refers to “carcinoembryonic antigen,” a substance in the blood that can be a sign that colon cancer is present. Assay, on the other hand, is a medical term for analysis. This usually involves taking a blood sample from the patient.

Treatments for Colon Cancer

The treatment for colon cancer usually depends on its current stage. The early stages usually require surgery, while the most advanced requires a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments.

Surgery. This is the most common treatment for colon cancer. Through surgery, the cancerous tumor, its surrounding tissues, and adjacent lymph nodes are removed, and the healthy tissues reconnected. The survival chances of colon cancer patients who undergo surgery depend on whether or not the cancer has metastasized or spread to other body organs. Monitoring is crucial after surgery, since there are cases when there is no evidence of metastasis at the time the surgery was conducted.

Chemotherapy. This is a systematic therapy that involves the use of medications to kill cancer cells. Colon cancer patients who underwent surgery are usually subjected to chemotherapy afterwards to kill off “microscopic metastasis,” or small cancer cells that cannot be detected. Chemotherapy is usually administered in treatment “cycles” and recovery periods. Though highly effective, it has several manageable side effects like hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Radiation therapy. When the cancer has spread to the bone, doctors usually recommend radiation therapy to lessen pain and prevent further spread. This procedure involves exposing the patient to radiation doses, which has been proven to reduce risk of colon cancer recurrence from fifty to seventy percent. As in chemotherapy, radiation therapy also has side effects like fatigue, temporary or permanent hair loss and skin irritation.