Colon Cancer

 Few things are as scary as learning you have cancer, a challenge that one in twenty-one Australians will face during their lifetime with colorectal cancer. Today, more and more people are surviving the disease, many with complete recovery and cure.

What is happening

Colon cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control and form a mass, or tumour, in your large intense. Doctors often refer to it as colorectal or bowel cancer because a malignancy can arise
in either the colon or the rectum. The colon is in your abdomen, and it leads to the rectum is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Australia after lung cancer.
     Usually slow growing, colorectal cancers often originate in a cell with generic mutations. Some of the genes that allow for cancer to run in families. More often, the abnormalities arise spontaneously for as yet unknown reasons, although diet appears to play an important role. Many colorectal cancers begin in a polyp that eventually forms a tumour. Left untreated, the tumour can bleed, obstruct your intestines or break through your bowel wall. Eventually cancer cells may also spread to lymph nodes or penetrate other organs, such as the liver or lungs.

LIKELY FIRST STEPS

• Colonoscopy, blood tests and radiological scans to help determine if your cancer has spread and what the best treatment options are.
• Surgery to remove the tumour as well as the surrounding tissue.
• In certain cases, cancer drugs (chemotherapy) may be given after surgery.
• In certain cases, radiation treatments may be needed before or after surgery.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• What stage is my cancer? Where is it? How far has it spread?
• What surgery will I require?
• Will I need chemotherapy? Can I do it at home rather than coming in to a hospital?
• Do I need radiation?
• Is there an available clinical trial that would be right for me?
• Am I at risk for other cancers?
• Are other family members at risk and what should they do about it?

   At diagnosis, colon cancers are graded to indicate how aggressive they are and tests are done to determine whether the cancer has spread (metastasised) into lymph nodes or other tissues. Each cancer is ranked according to a four-stage scale called the Dukes stage, often expressed as A through to D, to determine therapy and prognosis (see on shortly.) People with stage A cancer, confined to the

                                                    THE STAGES OF COLON CANCER

STAGE                                 SPREAD                                                    OUTLOOK
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A                       Tumour has not gone beyond inner lining of          Five-year survival is 90% to 100%                           digestive tract.
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B                        Tumour has broken through muscular wall of       Five-year survival is 70% to 85%
                           intestine but has not invaded any lymph nodes.
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C                        Cancer has spread to one or more lymph nodes.    Five-year survival is 30% to 60%
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D                        Tumour has spread to distant organs, often the      Survival is less than 10% and
                            liver.                                                                       the cancer is considered incurable.

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                                            Treatment Options 

Procedures
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Surgical resection                               Remove of tumour, lymph nodes, metastases.
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Radiation therapy                               Kills remnant cells; shrinks tumours presurgery.
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 Stent                                                  Tube through tumour to prevent obstruction.
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Laser ablation                                     Helps prevent obstruction, stops bleeding.
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Colostomy                                           External opening for waste; often temporary.


MEDICATIONS
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Chemotherapy drugs                           Kill cancer cells; often used in combination.

lining of  the colon, have the best outlook. More than 9 out of 10 patients with early-stage tumours will be alive five years after their diagnosis--a figure specialists call 'five-year survival'. If cancer has not reappeared during this time, you're considered cured. Those with higher-stage tumours generally do not do as well, though most with stage B or C cancers can be effectively treated.