|  | Cancer | Colon Cancer

Advanced Treatment for Colon Cancer

Even when colon cancer has grown to advanced stages, the possibility of effective treatment still exists. Although the goal of fighting late-stage cancer generally shifts from looking for remission to aiming to prolong life as long as possible, many of the methodologies are similar, affording the patient the best chance of conquering cancer, no matter its stage.

  1. Colon Cancer

    • According to MedlinePlus, colon cancer affects the large intestine or rectum. Risk factors for colon cancer include digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's, a family history of cancers or polyps in the colon. Symptoms include localized pain in the abdomen, bloody stool, narrow stool, weight loss or an obstruction in the digestive tract.

    Advanced Cancer

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, colon cancer is considered advanced cancer when it spreads out from the colon and infects other areas of the body. Medically, this is referred to as stage 4 cancer--when the cancer branches out through the lymph node system to make its way to other organs.

    Advanced Treatment Theory

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, advanced treatments for colon cancer mostly involve "palliative" methodology. These are techniques in which the goal is not to eradicate the cancer (as that is no longer feasible considering the extent to which it has spread) but to increase patient comfort as much as possible while prolonging life.

    Advanced Treatments

    • The advanced treatments used in handling these cases of colon cancer are largely limited to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. While the treatments won't eliminate the cancer at this stage, they might ease a patient's pain. Chemotherapy consists of the administration of poisonous drugs into the body to kill cancer cells, whereas radiation therapy consists of the targeted application of high energy radioactive waves to remove the cancerous tissues' ability to continue reproducing.

    Research Studies

    • Another viable form of advanced treatment consists of self-enrollment in research studies to investigate the viability of newly invented methodologies for treating cancer. The patient can help advance the state of the art by furthering science's understanding of cancer, which in time will hopefully culminate in a cure for colon cancer altogether.

Colon Cancer - Related Articles