1 Colon Carcinoma: An Overview

The process which is adopted to find out whether the cancer has spread only within the colon or to the other parts of the body is called staging. It helps us to determine the stage of the colon carcinoma. It has been classified into stage 0 colon carcinoma, stage 1 colon carcinoma, stage 2 colon carcinoma and stage 3 colon carcinoma.

Stage I colon carcinoma is one in which the tumor is confined to the bowel wall, as is the case in Dukes A lesion.

A stage II colon carcinoma is one in which the cancer grows beyond the muscular layer of the bowel wall, as is the case in Dukes B lesion.

A stage III colon carcinoma is one in which the cancerous growth has been spread to lymph nodes, similar to a Dukes C cancer.

A stage IV colon cancer is one in the tumor spreads to distant organs.

Once the cancer has been diagnosed, it is very important to see how far the cancer has advanced. So then, the most appropriate treatment may be adopted to cure the disease.

In stage 1 of the disease, the cancer spreads beyond the innermost to the second and third layers apart from the innermost lining of the colon and involves the inside wall of the colon. The cancerous growth doesnt spread up to the outer wall of the colon or outside the colon during it is in stage 1. Stage I colon cancer is also known as Dukes' A colon cancer or rectal cancer.

The patients may hear their doctors say that the cancer is localized when it is in the first stage. In order to cure the disease in the first stage, surgery is the standard treatment. The cure rate in this stage is high as the disease has not yet reached its advanced stage.

Through the staging of colon carcinomas, the probability of cancer recurring after the surgery is done can be easily predicted. It will also be known w hether chemotherapy may be helpful in preventing or decreasing the likelihood of a recurrence of the disease.

Because the cancer has not really advanced in the first stage, it can easily be cured. Therefore, the survival rate of the individuals in the stage I of the disease is 80-95 percent. So there is no reason to be dejected or to lose hope in life.

Chemotherapy is mostly used after surgery in the advanced stages of the disease so as to increase the survival rate. But it is not the case in stage I cancers, for which chemotherapy is rarely used.

The vast majority of stage 1 colon carcinoma cases are cured with surgery alone. Resection / anastomosis refers to the surgery to remove the cancer and join the cut ends of the colon. This is used to cure the patients in this stage. So dont worry, you will be cured.