Methods of treating colorectal cancer

There are several ways of treating the colorectal cancer. The doctor will explain the patient what these methods are and which is the most suitable for the patient. The most common methods of resolving the colorectal cancer are: surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Surgery is the solution adopted by most of the patients and doctors in order to remove the tumor. If the doctor believes that the cancer can return after surgery he will prescribe chemotherapy. Chemotherapy refers to a drug treatment that kills the cancerous cells. Another method of treating colorectal cancer is radiotherapy which can be used before or after surgery.

In order to see how to treat colorectal cancer doctors must first stage the cancer. There are four stages and they all depend on how deep the cancer has infiltrated the colon’s wall and if the local lymph nodes have been affected too. Stage one is the less aggressive stage for your organism. Once the cancer has reached stage four there are only a few chances for the patient to be cured.

In stage I the cancerous tumor affects only the inner layer of the colon or the rectal lining. The indicated treatment is surgery, for removing tumors and polyps. No further treatment is necessary.

In stage II the tumor has spread deeply in the inner line of the colon or rectum but has not broken through the colon wall yet. The recommended treatment is surgery with no other additional treatment after the surgery. The tumor will be analyzed in the lab in order to see whether the cancer will return or not. If the results of the analyze show that the cancer will come back then chemotherapy is recommended.

In stage III the lymph nodes got affected by the tumor. In colon cancer chemotherapy is needed after surgery; in rectum cancer chemotherapy or radiotherapy is made before or after the surgery.

Stage IV: the cancer has spread and affected other organs like lungs and liver. This means that the cancer has given metastasis. In this case chemotherapy and radiotherapy will be applied both in order to stop the rectum from being blocked. This kind of treatment is applied only for an amelioration of the symptoms and can not cure the cancer in this stage.

Doctors request chemotherapy after surgery was done because they want to make sure that every cancerous cell is being removed from the body. By surgery doctors can only remove the tumor but cancerous cells that can not be seen with the naked eye can remain in the body can create another tumor. Chemotherapy used drugs which kill these cells. Along whit this drugs, immunotherapy is applied in order to increase the power of the immune system.

If the patient has rectal cancer the doctor will probably recommend radiotherapy. Radiotherapy protects the patient against the risk of a reappearance of the cancer in the pelvic area. Sometimes radiotherapy is applied before surgery and this helps the patient by shrinking the tumor and protecting the patient from recurrence.

Of course there are side effects of this treatments but every patient is a unique person and bares differently the treatment. The doctor will tell you more about possible symptoms you might have after following this treatments.

After the treatment is done the patient should periodically present at he hospital for check-ups in order to see if a reappearance of the cancer has produced or not.

Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/

For greater resources on colon cancer or especially about metastatic colon cancer please visit this link www.colon-cancer-center.com/metastatic-colon-cancer.htm

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