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Cancer Information Tips :: Stage IV Colon Cancer
Stage IV Colon Cancer: Key Information on Stage IV Colon Cancer
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For answers to some frequently asked questions about stage IV colon cancer, keep reading.
What is colon cancer staging?
Colon cancer staging is a method that estimates how far the colon cancer has spread. Staging is done to diagnose the disease, research it and also determine the best course of treatment along with the appropriate dose of radiation, if required.
Typically, the most accurate method of staging can only be done after surgery and a full pathology investigation has been completed. However, with colon cancers, staging can also be done with an endoscopic ultrasound.
What are the stages of colon cancer?
With colon cancer, there are five stages starting at 0 and increasing to 4. Stage IV is the most advanced stage of colon cancer, making it the most fatal and difficult to treat or cure.
What is stage IV colon cancer?
When colon cancer has been defined as being in stage IV, it typically means that metastasis is present and/or the cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes and other parts of the body such as the lungs or liver.
Patients who have seen their cancer spread to another site, typically have an increased chance of recovery if the spread is limited to specific site or single, defined area in the affected organ.
How do doctors treat the fourth stage of colon cancer?
The most common method for treating advanced colon cancer is a surgical resection. Essentially, your surgeon will remove a portion or section of your colon - the area affected by the cancer tumor.
The remaining sections are then rejoined. However, with the fourth stage of colon cancer, the cancer has typically spread to another part of the body, meaning additional courses of treatments are required.
If the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body, then radiation therapy or chemotherapy is often used in conjunction with surgery. Depending on how far the cancer or tumor has spread, the course and dose of treatment will vary.
The most common form of treatment is chemotherapy drugs delivered in multi-drug combinations. With chemotherapy, most patients see their life span increase, but do not see a full recovery. According to the Oncology Resource Center, patients saw their survival durations increase to approximately 14 to 15 months with chemotherapy.
What are the survival rates for this stage of colon cancer?
Being diagnosed with advanced, stage IV colon cancer is not a death sentence. Depending on the location of the tumor, the strength of the patient and the quality of treatment - survival rates can vary. On average, patients in the U.S. who are diagnosed with fourth stage colon cancer have an 8 to 15% survival rate.
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