Colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer or bowel cancer, can be life threatening.  Early detection can make profound differences to the progress of the disease.  Regular check-ups and screening play an important role to prevent further affliction of the illness. The exact cause of colon cancer is unknown though there are factors that predispose one to having colorectal cancer including – family history, age, diet, smoking and alcohol intake, and bowel diseases.

Signs and Symptoms of Colon Cancer

• Narrowed stools and blood in the stool
• Change in bowel habits
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Severe abdominal discomfort or tenderness
• Unintentional weight loss
• Fatigue
• Vomiting

The signs and symptoms may resemble other intestinal cancer or a disease, that’s why it is suggested to seek medical advice once these symptoms occur.

Stages of Colon Cancer

Once you’re diagnosed this disease, your doctor will have to see the stage or severity of your disease.  The doctor will come up with staging to find out the extent of cancer.  Stages  include:

• Stage 0:  only found in the innermost lining of your colon.
• Stage 1:   involves the inner wall of the colon.
• Stage 2:  It spread to nearby tissues outside the colon.
• Stage 3:  It has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
• Stage 4:  It has spread to other parts of the body.

Recurrent:  The cancer has come back after series of treatment.  It may come back in the colon or in another part of the body.

Since the stage 4 of colon cancer is very crucial, let’s see what the rate of survival  in Stage 4.

Colon Cancer Survival Rate Stage 4

Patients with stage 4 colon cancer can have the worst prognosis depending on the metastases of the cancer. Based on statistics, the five-year cure rate of stage 4 is anticipated to be around 8 percent. It is fact that survival rate in stage 4 decreases rapidly once it progresses.  The Stage 4 of colorectal cancer is formerly known as the Duke’s D colon cancer.  It is considered the most advanced stage.  Generally, in this extent, the disease has already spread to nearby lymph nodes along with the other parts of the body which is very common in the liver and lungs.

The treatment for Stage 4  may include surgical resection.  In this surgery, the affected section of the colon will be removed by your surgeon.  The healthy sections of your colon will be joined together to form a healthy piece.  A patient will have to undergo radiation and chemotherapy, too depending on the involvement of the lymph nodes.

A patient in stage 4 of this disease shouldn’t lose hope thought the survival rate doesn’t look bad. The survival rate still depends on a lot of things including proper care and treatment.  In the first place, you shouldn’t also let it reach stage 4 as there are a lot of preventive measures which you can take such as lifestyle modification and regular screenings to prevent advancement of this disease.

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