Colon Cancer - What Is My Prognosis?

introduction

Of the Colon cancer affects a section of the Intestineswho is in front of the rectum is located. Usually get sick rather older people, mainly in the second half of life, from this disease, the mostly benign Colon polyps precede.

Above mentioned polyps, which almost all Tumors in the Large intestine should go ahead regularly by the doctor controlled and will be removed in due course. she arise mostly from the Mucosal tissue (Mucosal epithelium), which lines the inside of the colon. Those cells divide very often and are therefore much more susceptible to uncontrolled growths in this area.

A characteristic symptom is undoubtedly Blood in the stool. In general, changes in the consistency of the stool and also in stool habits are often noticeable.Since a tumor requires a great deal of energy, it is characteristic that the patient, without wanting it, often takes a very short time lose weight significantly. The body has to struggle hard with weight loss, blood loss and serious illness, which is why it is not uncommon fatigue and Listlessness noticeable. In addition, many patients complain of strong ones stomach pain.

Stages

If cancer is diagnosed, a so-called staging is always carried out. That is, the disease is divided into stages. First, it affects the primary tumor. This is the tumor that is the causative cancer. In addition, the lymph nodes are divided into stages. Lymph nodes connect numerous organs with one another, as they transport the lymph from the body. Metastases often spread through this route. In addition, at the end the metastasis, if it is present at all, is divided into stages.

Read more on the topic: Stages of colon cancer and their prognosis

The Stage of the tumor himself will with T1 to 4 named. The stage of Lymph nodes by N0 to 2 and the Metastases by M0 to 1.

Both Lymph nodes means 0that no lymph nodes involved are while 1 means that regional lymph nodes (surround the organ) are affected and in the stage N2 are more distant Affected lymph nodes. Stage 0 has the best prognosis here.

Both Metastases is there with M0 the possibility that no metastases are present and at M1 that it Distant metastases there, so that other organs are affected. Stage M0 has the best prognosis here.

in the Stage 1 Colon cancer if you are still no lymph nodes involved are, the tumor has not yet spread to other organs and he himself still tiny is. It has only attacked the superficial cells and has not yet penetrated the muscle layer. The Chances of recovery are at this stage extremely good. Often you can go through a surgery remove the entire tumor and the prognosis is very good.

In stage 2 of colon cancer, neither metastases nor lymph nodes are found. Nevertheless, the tumor is significantly larger and has worked its way into deeper tissue layers. Here, too, an operation is often sufficient and the prognosis is also very good in most cases.

In stage 3 of colon cancer, the tumor has enlarged significantly and has spread so far that surrounding lymph nodes are affected, but lymph nodes further away can also be affected. There are no metastases yet. Surgery is no longer enough at this stage. All affected lymph nodes must be removed and chemotherapy or radiation therapy is also used. The prognosis here is no longer so good.

In stage 4 of colon cancer, in addition to the affected lymph nodes, there are also metastases in other organs, so-called daughter tumors. The tumor can no longer simply be removed by surgery. Extensive chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatments are necessary, but the prognosis is rather poor.

Would you like to know about the curability of colon cancer? Then read more about it here: Is Colon Cancer Curable?

Prognosis for metastases

As mentioned above, metastases spread in the last stages of the disease. They migrate via the lymphatic path towards other organs and form daughter tumors there. There are so-called regional lymph nodes that are located directly on the respective organ. These are usually affected the earliest. However, the lymph then migrates to collecting lymph nodes, where the lymph is collected from many parts of the body and organs. Through this it can spread further in the body.

However, many metastases also penetrate blood vessels in order to spread. However, this can only happen when the tumor has gained connection to the body's blood-lymphatic system.

Metastases are not new tumors, but consist of the same tissue as the primary tumor and must therefore be treated in a similar way to the actual tumor.

In colon cancer, the lymph nodes are also the first to be affected. After that, the metastases very often spread to the lungs and / or liver. The advantage is that those daughter tumors are often easily operable or can be reduced in size by radiation or chemotherapy. Treatment of the metastases in colon cancer only makes sense if the primary tumor has been operated on.

Unfortunately, metastases can reappear after a while even after they have been completely removed. It is precisely for this reason that inspection appointments are made at regular intervals. It should be noted that although in most cases it is the liver and lungs into which the metastases spread, any other organ can also be affected. Unfortunately, cancer is not based on any guidelines.

Also read the following article: Life expectancy in colon cancer.

chemotherapy

Chemotherapy plays a major role in most types of cancer. It is often given as a support after an operation so that all cancer cells can really be destroyed. Even if the operation is successful, chemotherapy is given as standard for stage 3 colon cancer. Sometimes there are still cancer cells left that could not be localized this way. Appropriate therapy can kill those cells.

However, this form of therapy is not only used in connection with the primary tumor. Chemotherapy can also be very effective in combating metastases, which in colon cancer predominantly settle in the lungs and liver. In this way, the daughter tumors can sometimes be reduced and perhaps operated on afterwards.

It can also be a palliative measure that delays the disease if the spread of metastases and the growth of the primary tumor can be stopped, or the tumors are reduced in size. If the daughter tumors or the primary tumor can be treated effectively with chemotherapy, this can also alleviate the symptoms.

Although many cancer patients have had such positive experiences with this therapy, it should also be mentioned in this context that chemotherapy is an enormous burden on the body. The tricky thing is that chemotherapy targets all cells that are dividing quickly. This generally affects many cells in the digestive tract, but also hair and nails. That is why the characteristic side effects such as hair loss, brittle nails, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and severe fatigue and listlessness usually occur.

The person to be treated can primarily decide for themselves whether a patient receives chemotherapy. In addition, the physical condition plays a major role. There is also the option of receiving chemotherapy on an outpatient or inpatient basis. Here, too, the patient's condition and the expected side effects play a major role in the decision. It is important that you get good advice before the treatment. This is usually done by the responsible oncologist.

Read more on the subject at: Chemotherapy for colon cancer

liver

The liver becomes very in colon cancer often affected by metastaseswhich then form daughter tumors here. However, these tumors can often operate very well and by chemotherapy or radiation therapy shrink or remove them entirely.

In some cases, too In-situ ablation carried out. That means that you don't remove the tumor with an operation, but it destroyed directly in the liver. This is done from the outside through a needle Heat in the daughter tumor guided, whereby it dies. This method also gives very good results.

In addition, the liver is an organ that consists of 8 parts. If one or more parts are removed, they can be removed again regenerate, or the organ can work very well without the missing parts. Unfortunately, metastases are sometimes located in very unfavorable places, such as important vascular or nerve routes or too close to other vital structures, so that an operation cannot be carried out here. It is similar when that entire organ affected by metastases is. Here you have to go Chemotherapy or radiation therapy To fall back on. In addition to the two common methods mentioned, in-situ ablation is also an option here.

Terminal stage

One then speaks of Terminal stage this disorder when metastases in other organs find and regional and also distant lymph nodes Show daughter tumors.

Almost all patients get one in the latter stage palliative treatment. Palliative means that Relieved pain and the last life is eased as much as medication allows. This also applies to psychological care, food adapted to the illness and accompanying relatives.

However, there are also patients who have a improvement ceases and through chemotherapy or radiation therapies Tumors so shrunk can be that the Lifetime extended. Even if this is a very small number of patients reached, this possibility should also be mentioned. But it should be clear that a curative treatment, hardly possible anymore is. And therapies of all kinds only that Life extension serve.