Colon Cancer Staging – How Your Doctor Measures The Progress Of Your Colon Cancer

November 6th, 2009 by colon-cleansing-adviser

colon cancer staging

Colon cancer staging is a careful attempt to find out whether the cancer has spread, and if it has, to what other parts of the body it has spread. Colon cancer staging is very important because it helps to establish which forms of treatment may be appropriate in fighting the cancer.

When a doctor wants to evaluate the progress of colon cancer of one of his patients he or she uses a method called Staging. This method is about finding out to what extent the tumor has spread to the other regions of the patients body. Once the doctor has figured out in what stage the colon cancer is, they will develop the best course of action or treatment.

Colon Cancer Stage 0

Stage 0 also known as carcinoma in situ or colorectal cancer. In this stage the colon cancer has been detected in the innermost lining of the colon.

Colon Cancer Stage 1

In this stage the colon cancer has already begun to spread, but the cancer is still in the inner lining of the rectum or colon. In this stage the colon cancer has not reached the outer walls of the colon yet. Stage 1 is also known as Duke A or colorectal cancer.

Colon Cancer Stage 2

In this stage the colon cancer spread more deeply into or through the colon or rectum. Possibly the colon cancer may have affected other tissue as well. In this stage the colon cancer hasn’t reached the Lymph nodes (bean-sized structures which can be found in the entire body that helps the body fight all kinds of infections and diseases. Stage 2 is also known as Duke B or colorectal cancer.

Colon Cancer Stage 3

: Image by euthman via Flickr

When you are in this stage the colon cancer has now spread to the Lymph nodes although it hasn’t spread to nearby parts of the body. Stage 3 is also known as Duke C or colorectal cancer.

Colon Cancer Stage 4

In this stage the colon cancer has spread through the Lymph node system to other nearby tissue. This is most commonly called metastasis. The organs that most likely are affected are the lungs and liver. Stage 4 is also known as Duke D or colorectal cancer.

Survival rates for early stage detection is about 5 times that of late stage cancers. Staging of cancer is important because the stage at diagnosis is the most powerful predictor of survival, and treatments are often changed based on the stage. Please get in touch if you have any concerns over colon cancer staging and I will try to help.

Watch this video on colon cancer stages