Colon Cancer Prognosis

Question: What is the prognosis of stage IV colon cancer that spread to adrenal gland? My friend has been through chemo already, had portion of colon removed, and had spot on liver and lungs. All of this was taken care of and now she has a new tumor on her adrenal gland

Answer: Stage 4 generally means the primary cancer has spread to distant areas of the body. Stage 4 is the least curable stage of cancer. Never give up hope. Although a cancer may not be totally cured, it can be held back by chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy-depending on the exact type of cancer and where tumors are. Ask your friend to consult with her physician and cancer specialist-oncologist. As the adrenal gland is an endocrine gland-she may also wish to consult with an endocrinologist-but first have here see her cancer specialist-oncologist for such a referral.

Question: About colon cancer, please help!? ok how long does it take to get from stage 1 to stage 2 in colon cancer(and stage 2 to 3 and so on. There are 4 stages)? My father has stage 1 colon cancer and im wondering how long it takes to move along stages. And from what I have found if my father doesnt get the surgery then he has less than 90% chance of living for 5 more years? Is this true? What are the survival rates? It hasnt spread to other parts of the body yet, that we know of. He was diagnosed with stage 1 colon cancer about 2-3 months ago. your help is appreciated. explaination of stages: http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/colorecalcancer/a/crcancerstages.htm picture of stages: http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/cancer.gov/Media/CDR0000415501.jpg and the table of survival rates i found: http://www.alternative-cancer-treatments.com/colon-cancer-prognosis.htm are these accurate?

Answer: I don't think anyone can tell you this. Talk with the doctor.

Question: What is stage 4 colon cancer? I just found out my cousins had surgery for tumor in his colon that is probably cancer and probably stage 4, they also had found spots on his liver. What is the prognosis if this is cancer and it has spread to the liver. They are already planning chemo.

Answer: Im sorry to tell you this is a death sentance my sister died of colon cancer so i do speak from expriance make the most you have of the time you have left with your cousin i am very sorry that you have to deal with something like this i know how hard it is

Question: My grandfather has been bleeding from his rectum for 2+ years on and off...Colon Cancer? He now refuses to use the bathroom in his trailer...but rather uses it in an outhouse and will no longer allow us to wash his clothes, as we used to find bloody garments all the time. He's lost significant weight but seems strong as usual. His brother had the same bleeding problem a few years back and died within 2 years of starting bleeding. This is not hemorroids...at times, we have found the entire toilet filled with blood and blood soaked clothes aren't coming from hemorroids. He is scared of a prognosis and absolutely refuses any medical attention or to even talk about any worsening or better conditions he may be experiencing. Is this colon cancer? He is 56 years old and works 2 jobs and hasn't been to a doctor in probably decades.

Answer: Bleeding from the rectum is never a good thing. It can be many things but if one has it then a doctor should be seen as soon as possible. Does he have other symptoms? Before I was diagnosed I had other symptoms as well as the rectal bleeding, so it may not be anything serious. But I remember before going to get myself checked I was told rectal bleeding should be checked out asap.

Question: Colon cancer questions, open to all who have been touched by colon cancer.? What stage was the person diagnosed with? What was their treatment? What was their prognosis? Were they cured, still fighting or how long did they survive? (especially stage 3 & 4) My mom was recently diagnosed and I want to hear what people other than doctors have to say. Thanks.

Answer: Hi, sorry to hear about your Mum. My Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer in July. I really don;t know what stage it was at when he was diagnosed..but it had spread only a little outside the bowel and not in to any other organs. I was really terrified for him when I found out, but he has been having treatment including radio, chemo and surgery and is really doing well. The chemo hardly affected him at all, but the radio made him feel pretty rough. The op (in Jan) removed lots so now he has to have a permanent colostomy bag and I'd say it's taken him maybe 4 months to recover from the op. I feel he's been really lucky because he's responded so well to treatment. He has one more dose of chemo to go but hopefully that will be it. I know this isn't very scientific, but just wanted to try to let you know that although it is really scary, they can pull through it! Dad was determined from the start that he would just do every thing possible to get rid of it....and we all supported him. Think that's really important and know he appreciated it. Sorry to go on....hope this has helped a bit!

Question: Prognosis for positive lymph nodes? My MIL just had surgery for colon cancer. They've tested her lymph nodes, and received positive results on over half. She will be undergoing chemo after she's healed from the surgery. What, in someone's informed opinion, does her prognosis look like? She doesn't have lymphoma. She had colon cancer that has metastisized to some lymph nodes. They still call it colon cancer.

Answer: Colon cancer is the third leading cause of new cancer cases and cancer death for both men and women, accounting for about 11% of all cancer cases. That's a lot, if you consider how many kinds of cancer there are. When colon cancer has spread to the adjacent lymph nodes, it is at least stage 3. If it has also planted into distant organs such as the liver, then it is stage 4. Cancer prognosis estimations are based on stage grouping, and this then presupposes that the staging is accurate. The failing in collecting large sets of patient data in regard to cancer is that sometimes the accuracy in things like staging varies. Also, different groups of patients get treated using different regimens as the science progresses, and it becomes difficult to compare data without understanding the chronologic effect For these reasons, different studies vary in results. The basic measure of cancer survival, is how many patients with a specific condition are still alive 5 years later. This is called the 5 year survival. Sometimes a 5 year disease free survival rate is also tabulated indicating that people are alive 5 years later and not grappling with disease. In stage 3 colon cancer, a 5 year survival of between 30 and 50 percent is probably accurate. The lower end comes from studies which probably include a fraction of patients who are already stage 4 but we missed it, and the upper end is people who are generally aggressively treated, and respond well. Chemotherapy, despite what some of the untrained people commenting above me may think, is often highly effective. It may not cure the disease, but it sure beats it back. Chemotherapy regimens for different cancers are not the same, and the field evolves rapidly. Colon cancer therapy is fairly well tolerated compared to most. .... I hope that helps.

Question: Does anyone have any experience with cancer of the appendix Prognosis? Treatment? I know it's very rare. My friend who has been diagnosed says they'll treat it like colon cancer and haven't given her a straight answer about prognosis yet. Any info will be gratefully received. Thank you. Thank you both for your kind answers. I will forward the websites. She did have surgery. They removed 5 or 6 lymph nodes, her appendix, of course, both ovaries, and a portion of her colon. She starts chemo at the beginning of September after she's had time to recover from this surgery. Based on this additional information, do you think it's as dire as I assume?

Answer: Cancer of appendix (Appendiceal Carcinoma) is rare, but I have heard of it. One area of treatment that should be considered as soon as possible is cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic chemoperfusion. There is a website and support group that can guide your friend. There are different types of appendix cancers and each one is different so your friend will need to do the research for her kind. Appendix Cancer Survivor http://www.appendix-cancer.com/ ASCO: Appendix Cancer http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/Appendix+Cancer

Question: Is it normal to mourn in expectancy of a loved ones death? My grandmother on my father's side has colon cancer, has severe demensia and is expected to die with the next few days-weeks. My uncle has lung cancer and has the same prognosis. Is it normal to feel a sense of mourning in expectancy of their deaths? Any tips to help with it? I'm so sorry for your loss Melissa, thanks for the advice.

Answer: Yes it is. My son passed away in July. You know the outcome and your just dealing with it. It's normal and expected. I'm so sorry for your challenges in life but always remember God doesn't give you more then you can handle...Best wishes and God Bless

Question: Tony Snow-Several Questions concerning his cancer? Did white house press secretary Tony Snow have all of his colon removed years ago and does he have a colostomy? During an interview yesterday w/ Brian Williams he looked very sick. Has the cancer spread to his liver? What's his prognosis? My prayers are with him and his family at this time.

Answer: If he had his colon removed he probably has a colostomy. He recently found that his cancer had metastasized after being 'no evidence' of disease for two years. This is not uncommon for a cancer patient. 'No evidence of disease' does not mean it is not still there, it just means that no one can see it and the imaging tools we have cannot pick up microscopic cancer cells. So, the cancer can 're-occur' . . but actually the cancer never left it was just too small to see. No one knows what the prognosis is for each individual fighting this type of cancer. Even if it has spread to the liver, the secondary source can be removed and prognosis good. Much really depends on the size of the tumors . . if they are small than surgery or a process called radio frequency ablation is a possible means to remove them. Tumors attached to the outside of the liver are easier to treat than ones located inside the liver. My son has had successful surgery to remove tumors on the outside of the liver and caked onto the diaphragm (hundreds about the size of quarters). So, I know it is possible to do. I also know people who have had RFA to ablate their liver tumors which worked well too. Tony Snow is a brave individual to continue working while under treatment for such a brutal disease. I have great admiration for Snow and Elizabeth Edwards and for anyone living with cancer. And, that's what it is . . living with cancer. Hopefully he will be able to stablize the disease and stop any tumor progression. If he can find the right combination of medication he can control the disease and live with it much like Elizabeth Edwards will be doing. This does not mean it is cured . . it means the disease is controlled in the same way that diabetes can be controlled but not cured.

Question: dad has cancer on the liver all over ,does he have a chance he's 76yrsold? they are pretty sure it started in the colon then spread to his liver,doctors prognosis was to just let him die comfortble...i didnt like that answer..

Answer: Man, I don't like that answer either. If he still has some fightin him and he wants to fight then get to another cancer center. See who is doing radical or experimental treatment. Good luck, I hope that you will have peace in whatever happens to your dad.

Question: Is Chemotherapy save? What do you think about chemotherapy? Is is safe? What are the prognosis? Can you live a long time after Chemo. is chemo bad or good. It's chemo for colon cancer.

Answer: Typically, the drugs used in chemotherapy have long term risks associated with them. However, you have to survive the cancer for these risks to come into effect. Personally, I chose chemotherapy despite the associated risks as they were less than the risks of letting my cancer go untreated. Your oncologist is the best person to advise you on your personal risk factors and survival chances.

Question: If someone has seven tumours? If someone has seven tumours-the orginal site being the very top of the colon, realistically what is their prognosis,other than its terminal? How long are you likely to have? Will my relative see Christmas this year.? Primary cancer-Bowel. Secondary cancer on the liver.

Answer: My best friend was diagnosed with bowel cancer and secondaries on the liver at the end of April. She was given a pretty bleak prognosis. After liver surgery and a course of chemo she is still with us and highly likely to see Christmas. She's still incurable but she has done better than was expected. The point is, you can't really generalise, every case is different.

Question: dad has cancer on the liver all over ,does he have a chance he's 76yrsold? they are pretty sure it started in the colon then spread to his liver,doctors prognosis was to just let him die comfortble...i didnt like that answer..

Answer: If cancer has metastesised to other organs, usually anything but a painfree death is irrelavent for someone your father's age.Sorry, but colon cancer is one of the worst for metastesising. A surgeon would try to save someone if he thought there was any chance of survival. Its time for you to accept that your dad won't live much longer, and spend as much time with him as possible, and ensure that he gets the meds he needs to keep him comfortable.