PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS
If a tumour is obstructing the bowel or if the cancer has spread through the rectal muscles or into the anus the surgeon may need to perform a colostomy. This procedure creates an opening from the colon through the abdominal wall and allows wastes to leave the body and collect in an outside pouch. It's important to note that most colon cancer operations do not require a colostomy. And when one is performed, it is often temporary and can be reversed with a second operation. In addition, many appliances and techniques are now available to keep bowel movements under control and to help you stay clean and odour-free.
Medications
While chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill cancer cells, they are double-edged weapons: because they attack healthy as well as cancerous cells, they can cause bad reactions, such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, hair loss, fatigue and mouth sores. On a positive note, because the dosages can be adjusted and medications can minimise side effects, chemotherapy patients often miss only a couple of days of work.
When do you think I can expect to feel better?
Because many cases of colon cancer are free of symptoms, you may not notice any dramatic changes even after the surgeon has removed your cancer. Like many people, you may have become very weak and tired in the months before your diagnosis because your tumour was bleeding and caused you to become anaemic. Once the tumour is removed, you'll have much more energy. You may also have had constipation, diarrhoea or other bowel changes because of your cancer. These symptoms, too, will disappear in a few weeks. Many people are basically back to normal, two or three weeks. Many people are basically back to normal, two or three weeks after surgery. If chemotherapy or radiation is required, recovery may be slower because of side effects. However, in most people, side effects can be so well controlled that you may miss at most only one or two days of work during treatment sessions.
For several decades now, 5-flourouracil, or 5-FU, has been the standard chemotherapy drug for colon cancer. To boost the drug's effectiveness, doctors usually give 5-FU with other drugs, most commonly leucovorin, a form of the B vitamin folic acid. These drugs are given intravenously in various combinations and schedules, which means you may need to make daily or weekly visits to your treatment centre over the course of several months. Doctors also implant pumps in the abdomen that continually dispense the drug. If you have metastatic disease that has spread to distant organs, 5-FU and lecovorin, a form of the B vitamin folic acid. These drugs are given intravenously in various combinations and schedules, which means you may need to make daily or weekly visits to your treatment center over the course of several months. Doctors also implant pumps in the abdomen that continually dispense the drug. If you have metastatic disease that has spread to distant organs, 5-FU and lecovorin are usually combined with irinotecan (Camptosar), which boosts their cancer-killing effects and prolongs survival. The more you take, however, the greater the likelihood of side effects, so you'll be carefully monitored.
Different medications and medication combinations are continually being tested in clinical trials. Of particular note is capecitabine (Xeloda), the first oral colon caner drug. It appears to be as effective as 5-FU for treating metastatic disease; tests are assessing its value for adjuvant chemotherapy. Other drugs, such as oxaliplatin and raltitrexed, may prolong survival and also reduce the likelihood of side effects.
Outlook
Most people with colon cancer are cured by treatment. It is important to have a doctor's examination every three to six months for the first three years after surgery. Your doctor will perform additional tests to be sure the cancer has not recurred. If it does recur, a second round of treatment is often successful. For end-stage disease, hospice care is a compassionate choice.
- A new generation of drugs is being designed to attack cancer cells alone. One promising called EGFR, or epidermal growth factor receptor, which is abundant on the surface of cancer cells. In preliminary studies, by giving an EGFR blocker with standard chemotherapy, survival was prolonged in people with advanced colon cancer. These agents, which include such drugs as Erbitux and Iressa, might one day help to turn cancer into a chronic and manageable disease, much like diabetes.
- Investigators at Stanford University School of Medicine report that a genetically altered cold virus called Onyx-015 has potential use against advanced colon cancer. The virus is injected into the hepatic artery, the main blood vessel that leads to the liver. It infects and multiplies in tumour cells but leaves healthy cells alone. In a small pilots study, it shrank tumours that had spread to the liver.
- Popular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, are now emerging as weapons in the fight against colon cancer. The melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study studied 715 patients and showed that regular use of aspirin was associated with a 40% lower risk of colorectal cancer. Similar studies around the world have supported the benefit of NSAIDs in preventing cancer, even taking into account the increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.
If a tumour is obstructing the bowel or if the cancer has spread through the rectal muscles or into the anus the surgeon may need to perform a colostomy. This procedure creates an opening from the colon through the abdominal wall and allows wastes to leave the body and collect in an outside pouch. It's important to note that most colon cancer operations do not require a colostomy. And when one is performed, it is often temporary and can be reversed with a second operation. In addition, many appliances and techniques are now available to keep bowel movements under control and to help you stay clean and odour-free.
Medications
While chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill cancer cells, they are double-edged weapons: because they attack healthy as well as cancerous cells, they can cause bad reactions, such as nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, hair loss, fatigue and mouth sores. On a positive note, because the dosages can be adjusted and medications can minimise side effects, chemotherapy patients often miss only a couple of days of work.
When do you think I can expect to feel better?
Because many cases of colon cancer are free of symptoms, you may not notice any dramatic changes even after the surgeon has removed your cancer. Like many people, you may have become very weak and tired in the months before your diagnosis because your tumour was bleeding and caused you to become anaemic. Once the tumour is removed, you'll have much more energy. You may also have had constipation, diarrhoea or other bowel changes because of your cancer. These symptoms, too, will disappear in a few weeks. Many people are basically back to normal, two or three weeks. Many people are basically back to normal, two or three weeks after surgery. If chemotherapy or radiation is required, recovery may be slower because of side effects. However, in most people, side effects can be so well controlled that you may miss at most only one or two days of work during treatment sessions.
For several decades now, 5-flourouracil, or 5-FU, has been the standard chemotherapy drug for colon cancer. To boost the drug's effectiveness, doctors usually give 5-FU with other drugs, most commonly leucovorin, a form of the B vitamin folic acid. These drugs are given intravenously in various combinations and schedules, which means you may need to make daily or weekly visits to your treatment centre over the course of several months. Doctors also implant pumps in the abdomen that continually dispense the drug. If you have metastatic disease that has spread to distant organs, 5-FU and lecovorin, a form of the B vitamin folic acid. These drugs are given intravenously in various combinations and schedules, which means you may need to make daily or weekly visits to your treatment center over the course of several months. Doctors also implant pumps in the abdomen that continually dispense the drug. If you have metastatic disease that has spread to distant organs, 5-FU and lecovorin are usually combined with irinotecan (Camptosar), which boosts their cancer-killing effects and prolongs survival. The more you take, however, the greater the likelihood of side effects, so you'll be carefully monitored.
Different medications and medication combinations are continually being tested in clinical trials. Of particular note is capecitabine (Xeloda), the first oral colon caner drug. It appears to be as effective as 5-FU for treating metastatic disease; tests are assessing its value for adjuvant chemotherapy. Other drugs, such as oxaliplatin and raltitrexed, may prolong survival and also reduce the likelihood of side effects.
Outlook
Most people with colon cancer are cured by treatment. It is important to have a doctor's examination every three to six months for the first three years after surgery. Your doctor will perform additional tests to be sure the cancer has not recurred. If it does recur, a second round of treatment is often successful. For end-stage disease, hospice care is a compassionate choice.
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