When colon cancer grows it often creates metastasis on other organs. Colon cancer metastasis can be developed in any part of the body. However, the most common locations are the liver and the lungs.

A colon cancer metastasis can be discovered together with the primary tumors placed in the colon. Many people are diagnosed with colon cancer stage four because of the lack of symptoms associated with the disease in the earliest stages. So, because of the symptoms produced by colon cancer spread and metastasis sometimes, colon cancer is discovered.

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Colon cancer and the metastasis created by this disease can be diagnosed by doctors using different tests. The doctor establishes if the cancer was first developed in the colon or the other part of the body where it has spread. This thing can be made through an examination of the cancerous tumors samples under the microscope. Cancer cell look the same on the colon and on the other organ where it has spread. This way doctors can establish where was the first tumor created and what type of cancer did the patient developed.

So colon cancer metastasis can be diagnosed when colon cancer is discovered in stage four, but it also can be found years or month after the cancer had been diagnosed in stages one or two and treatment was used to cure it. When cancer reoccurs after a period of time it often creates metastases, not others primary tumors. However a metastasis is created only by a primary tumor, even if that tumor was treated years before the metastasis appeared.

In this phase colon cancer treatment involves both primary tumors cure, if they are still formed and the cancer is now first discovered, but also metastasis treatment. In most cases the treatment applied is chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy or surgery. Surgery is usually performed with chemotherapy treatment before and after the intervention. However, treatment can depend very much on the exact location of the tumors, the number of tumors, their size, the patient age or the patient reaction to the drugs. Anyway, chemotherapy side effects can mostly be controlled using other medicines.

Unfortunately, colon cancer that has metastases is very difficult to cure and in the majority of cases it brings also the patient death. The survival rates for colon cancer are at an average of 8 to 10 percent, but they can be higher in different countries and cases. For example, the survival rates for colon cancer that has created liver metastases are higher than the ones for lung or bones metastases, maybe because the liver metastases are also the most common ones, and doctors know what type of treatment works and what does not work. The survival rates for liver metastases can be at 20 to 30 percent.

Colon cancer is a disease which is first formed in the colon. From the colon tumors can spread beyond the colon wall into the blood of lymph system. Through the blood and lymph system the disease can spread easily to any part of the body. However, colon cancer affects mostly the liver or the lungs. Sometimes the tumors spread to the bones.

When the cancer spreads it means that the patient has reached colon cancer last stage, which is stage four. In this last stage the tumors developed in the colon area spread and create metastases. The metastases can be formed in any part or organ of the individual’s body, but usually they are developed in the liver or the lungs. Of course in this stage the chances of cure are the lowest and they depend on the exact location of the secondary tumors, the patient’s reaction to the treatment and if the cancer can suffer a medical intervention or a surgery or not. For example, some researches believe that colon cancer survival rates are higher in colon cancer liver metastases than in other types of spreads. They can reach 20 to 30 percent on the five years survival rate.

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In general, metastatic colon cancer survival rates are the worst. If in the earliest stages, 85 to 90 percent of all those diagnosed with colon cancer survive the disease, in stage four, when the cancer spreads only 8 to 10 percent pass the five years time period after their diagnosis. This is not the most encouraging thing. However, you must not thing that if you have been diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer there is nothing you can do to treat the cancer and survive it.



Anyway, in last years, because of the growth of people informing grade regarding colon cancer and the discoveries made in the treatment field, the chances of cure and the metastatic colon cancer survival rates have also grown. In some studies you will see that researches consider that this year the survival rates will be much higher, reaching 20 percent. This is a very encouraging fact, because the growth of colon cancer survival rates will determine also a growth of colon cancer prognosis. You should also know that there is no case similar to another because every patient is unique. This is way even if in a similar case the cancer has evolved in a certain way, it does not mean that it will do the same in yours. Keeping your hopes up is an important key in your treatment. Even if you may not know there are some things you can do to increase your chances of cure. Exercising and diet are just two of them.

There are many things which can influence the prognosis of colon cancer for an individual. The most important ones are the stages of the disease and the exact locations of the metastases created by it. Other factor may regard the patient general health and its age, but also the way he reacts to the treatment and drugs administrated.

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Staging and prognosis in colon cancer are made by doctors using different medical tests. If the stage of the disease is established through CT or PET scans the prognosis is made by the doctor using statistics and patients evolutions in similar cases. If the stage can be established certainly, we can not say the same thing about prognosis. Nothing can be certain about them and no one can say for sure how the cancer is going to evolve and if you can be cured or not.

The survival rates are established with references at the five years term. The general survival rate is at about 64 percent of all those being diagnosed with this cancer type. This means that after five years form the time of diagnoses, 64 percent of all patients still lived. Almost 36 percent did nor survive the disease. Men tend to be more affected by colon cancer than women, but the differences are very low.



But if we refer at staging and prognosis in colon cancer patients we will see that the numbers are different depending on the stage of the disease. In stage one about 39 percent of all colon cancer cases are diagnosed and from those people 90.4 percent survive. In stage two 37 percent of the patients discover the disease and 80 percent survive it. Because of the lack of symptoms in the earliest stages, colon cancer is often diagnosed in stages three and four. In stage three 9 percent of those who developed colon cancer are being diagnosed and 40 percent win the fight with the disease, while in stage four only 5 percent of the cases are discovered and 10 percent survive the disease.



When we start talking about the most advanced stages, unfortunately, the chances of cure are very low and so the survival rates and prognosis. Even if treatments have improved and so medical interventions for colon cancer, the chances to survive an advanced stage are still low. This happens because the cancer spreads into the body and creates secondary tumors on other organs. People need to know how their disease is going to evolve and how much they are going to live. Unfortunately no one can tell them that precisely. Some can survive colon cancer even if it has spread, while other can react badly to treatment in the first stages. Doctors can not know if the tumors with withdraw with chemotherapy or not.

Colon cancer is a leading cause in cancer deaths in United States, Europe and Japan. This happens because the cancer is diagnosed in one of the last stages of its evolution, because the lack of symptoms in the first stages does not indicate the presence of a disease.
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Colon cancer is staged in five stages form zero to four according to the tumors growth and spread. Of course, in the earliest stages the cancer is easier to treat while in the last stages it often involves the patient death. Colon cancer staging is made with the purpose to establish the disease evolution and the areas of extension. This is made by doctors after tests to be able to establish the best treatment which might be used in every case.



The colon cancer stage is estimated according to the penetration of the tumors depending on the extent of local invasion, the degree of lymph node involvement and the number and places where metastasis were formed, if the case. Colon cancer staging can be made usually after surgery or colonoscopy. Doctors make rapports after medical interventions and they establish the exact phase of the cancer. A stage of this kind of cancer can be established also according to an endoscopic ultrasound. The colon cancer metastasis can be staged using abdominal ultrasounds, CT or PET scans depending on the tumor location.

One of the most used staging of colon cancer is the system used by the American Committee on Cancer, system which regards tumors, nodes and metastases. Though this staging system is analyzed the degree of the lymphatic node involvement, the degree of metastasis and the invasion of the intestinal wall. This is how colon cancer stages form zero to four are numbered and formed.



The most common test used to determine the stage of colon cancer after the disease has been discovered and diagnosed are the CT scan, the magnetic resonance imaging, the lymph node biopsy and the CEA Assay. The CT scan is a type of x-ray which rotates around the individual body and gives the doctor a clear view of the bones. The magnetic resonance imaging is the use of radio waves and magnets, which provide the possibility to see soft tissues. The lymph node biopsy is the check of lymph nodes which provides a clear imagine about the evolution of the cancer outside the colon and to the colon wall. The CEA Assay is a useful test for searching abnormal levels of carcinoembryonic antigen in the individual blood.

Staging colon cancer is not a difficult thing to do. Test and medical techniques have been developed and today, the establishment of the exact colon cancer stage is quite easy in all patients’ cases.

Colon cancer is one of the worst diseases which may affect an individual. Even if the disease is not difficult to treat in stage zero or stage one, when it reaches the last stage colon cancer is very hard to treat. But what are colon cancer stages?
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Colon cancer, like other types of cancers is staged according to the disease evolution in the individual body. The earliest stages of the disease correspond to the tumors formation and the last stages to the tumors spread. Colon cancer has in total five stages. In stage zero a group of abnormal cells are seen at screening tests by doctors. These cells have the potential of becoming cancerous and they can be easily removed before they grow and become a problem. These cells can be cancerous at the time of discovery or they can have the predisposal in becoming cancerous. In this stage there are no symptoms and the cells make no threat to the persons well of being.



In stage one the tumor extends to the colon wall. It this stage the cancer is still incipient. It can affect the inner tissue layer, but it does not leave the colon area. In stage two starts spreading in the colon wall and in the surrounding tissues. In this two stages colon cancer can be treated by the surgical interventions which can remove the cancerous tumors. In stage three things start being more complicated because of the cancer spread. This stage is one of the colon cancer advanced stages. The tumors have affected the middle layers and it is formed in at least three lymph nodes, with the possibility to affect nearby tissues or organs, such as the ovaries. In stage four, the last stage of colon cancer, the tumors spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, the liver or the bones using the blood or lymph system. In these last two stages the chances of cure are very low, the survival rates being at about 10 to 20 percent in colon cancer stage four. However, in both stages surgery can be performed and when it is not possible because of the general spread of cancer or the bad state of health of the patients, chemotherapy can be applied. Chemotherapy through the administration of different dugs can be a way of fighting against colon cancer and actually defeating the disease.



Colon cancer stages were established by doctors because of the need to diagnose the cancer exact state of evolution. Treatment can be different according to the stage of the disease. In some cases the cancer can be cured while in others it is too late for treatment to work and the patient death can occur.

Colon cancer is a disease not easy to cure if the diagnosis is made in stage IV. But what is colon cancer stage four and what are colon cancer stages?
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The cancer is a disease that is usually divided in different stages according to the phase in which the disease is at the moment of diagnosis. The phases of cancer are established according to the disease evolution. Colon cancer has five different stages. The first one is stage zero, the easiest one to treat, and the last one is stage four, the most difficult one to cure. Staging colon cancer is very important because the treatment given to patients is established according to the disease stage. In colon cancer earliest stages, treatment often involves only surgical interventions, while in stage three besides surgery chemotherapy is recommended. In stage IV colon cancer is very advanced because it has spread outside the colon to other parts of the body. In stage IV the chances of cure are very low, but treating the disease is not impossible.



The main difference between colon cancer stage IV and colon cancer stage III is the distance where cancerous tumors spread. In stage III, the cancer affects nearby organs, while in stage IV colon cancer can affect the lungs or the liver. So, the initial tumors create cancerous metastases in other parts of the body. This way the disease is more difficult to treat in these cases. Surgery can be done, but if cancerous tumors have been developed in more than one place, they are inefficient because even if two tumors are removed, not all of them can be taken out. This is way chemotherapy is recommended with or without surgery. Through chemotherapy the colon cancer patients receives powerful dugs which are taken with the purpose to stop the tumors development and to make them withdraw. The drugs administrated through chemo can determine a general decline of the patient’s health, determining him feel also nausea, fatigue or weakness.



In many cases colon cancer is discovered in one of the last stages because symptoms often do not manifest themselves until the disease evolves. This is the reason way today colon cancer is one of the main death causes among cancer patients, although this type of cancer is the easiest one to treat in the first stages. To change this situation the solution is to have screening tests every year mostly if you are one of the persons who have got a bigger risk in developing colon cancer. The risk is higher if you have had a colon cancer case if your family and if you are over 50 years old and have smoked, eat improperly or suffered form colon diseases.

Colon cancer can be staged in five different stages form zero to four, stages that indicate the evolution of the cancerous tumor. In stage zero the tumor is not actually formed and it has not left it’s original position. In this phase the disease is the easiest to cure. However, in most cases, there are no symptoms and that is way the cancer is not usually discovered in one of the first stages. That is way screenings at recommended time periods are very important.
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In stage one the tumor has extended beyond the innermost layer to the middle layers of the colon, and is stage two it has moved beyond the middle layers of the colon. In these stages the most appropriate and used medical intervention is surgery. Through surgery, the tumors can be removed and so the cancer cured. However, in colon cancer final stages, stage three and four, in some cases surgery can not be performed and so the medical interventions usually regard both surgery and chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In stage three the tumors spread to nearby tissues and organs and in stage four the cancer can spread to other organs that are not in the near of the initial tumors, such as the bones, the lungs, the liver or even the brains. So, in these two stages the initial tumor causes cancerous metastases, which makes the disease more difficult to treat.



In the final stages colon cancer is very difficult to cure, and unfortunately because the lack of symptoms, the disease is actually discovered in one of this two phases. Being diagnosed with colon cancer final stages can be a real shock and it can be the hardest moment of your life. However, you should know that even if the cancer has evolved, it can still be cured. Chemotherapy techniques have improved and drugs for colon cancer cure have also been in continues development. Although today there is still not a single medication that can cure cancer, the combination of some drugs can make the tumor withdraw, or al least it can stop it from growing. Only in the worst cases chemotherapy is administrated with the purpose to reduce the pain caused by the cancer.



The fact is that colon cancer is staged according to the evolution of the tumors. In the first stages the cancer is easy to remove through surgery and in colon cancer final stages, the disease is very difficult to cure because it has spread to other parts of the body. This fact is demonstrated by the mortality rates because of colon cancer, the disease being one of the most important deaths cause among cancer patients all over the world, in both men and women.

Colon cancer is one of the deaths leading causes for cancer patients in both United States, in Japan and in Europe. Colon cancer is a disease that can be formed in the colon or rectum and that affects both men and women, usually over 50 years old.
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This disease is easier to treat if it is diagnosed in the first stage, and very difficult to cure if it is diagnosed in the last stage. But what are the stages of colon cancer?



Colon cancer, like other types of cancers has five stages that are established according to the tumor evolution. Stage zero is the earliest one, the stage in which the cancer is forming. In stage zero, the tumor has not left it’s original place, the innermost lining of the colon. In stage one, the tumor has extended and it has passed the innermost layer to the middle layers of the colon. From there the tumor continues evolving and so in stage two it passes the middle layers of the colon. In stage three colon cancer affects at least three lymph nodes, while in stage four the tumor spreads to other parts of the body and affects the liver, the lung or even the brains.

So, the first stages of colon cancer correspond to the forming of the tumors, while the last ones to its spread. Colon cancer stage four is the most advanced one, the stage in which the tumor is the most difficult to cure. In stage three the disease starts spreading, but is only affects nearby tissues and organs. In stage four it can affect far way organs such as the brain, although the situation is not very common.



The disease treatments depend on what are the stages of colon cancer diagnoses. In the first stages, form zero to two, the treatment is based on surgical interventions. In the last two stages, surgery is performed also, but the operation may not be possible. However, chemotherapy and radiation therapies are also applied. Although, in stage three and four the cancers can still be cured in many situations, the chances for treatment to work are very low and this mostly happens in stage four, when the disease can cause the patients death.

So, colon cancer stages show the general evolution of the disease and if it has spread or not and as, we can see, in colon cancer last stages, the disease usually spreads. In general, stage three and four colon cancer survival rates are not very optimistic. However, this does not mean that there are no chances for patients diagnosed in one of these stages. Treatment can actually work and the tumors can stop their growth and they can also withdraw.

Colon cancer has five stages, which are established regarding the evolution of the disease. In stages 0, 1 and 2 the cancer has not left the colon region, while in the last two stages, stage 3 and stage 4, the disease has spread to other areas of the body, like nearby organs in stage 3 and other organs that are more far from the colon in stage 4.
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As early as discovered, colon cancer is easier to treat. The stage 4 of the disease is the most advanced one and so the most difficult to cure. In this stage, the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and other parts of the body, mostly to the liver and the lungs. After the cancer has reached the mucosa, submucosa and the serosa, the muscle layers, it hits blood vessels and lymph nodes, though which it can spread to the whole body and develops tumors on the liver or the lungs.



Colon cancer prognoses for stage 4 are the worst because treatment in some cases can not include surgical intervention. However, some cases may require surgery. The affect part of the colon is removed through surgery and the healthy one is reattached back. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can also be administrated depending on the patient general heath, his response to the treatment and the drugs that are taken by the patients’ effects. If the cancer has created metastases on the liver, ovaries, stomach or lungs, another surgical intervention on those areas may be required.

Colon cancer prognoses for stage 4 are influenced by many factors. The tumor exact location and the parts of the body where it has spread are just two of them. Because the cancer is discovered when it is so advanced the life expectancy on colon cancer stage 4 patients are the lowest ones. About 8 to 15 percent of the people with stage 4 colon cancer are still alive five years after their diagnosis. It depends on the treatment and the patients’ body resistance for it to redraw.



Anyway, colon cancer prognosis looks better in American then in Europe. The explication to this fact may be that the quality of care is better in the Unites States, and the screening programs are sustaining the cancer discovery in the earliest stages. The five-year survival for colon cancer in America is 62 percent while in Europe it is only 43 percent. Even if colon cancer stage 4 prognoses are the worst, it does not mean that in the most advanced stage the disease can not be cured at all. It is just that it is more difficult to cure and that is way, in the majority of cases, it brings the patients death.

Like other cancers, colon cancer has many stages depending on the disease evolution. The first stages, zero and one, are the most easiest to cure. In stage zero, the cancer is not actually a formed disease, but there are some signs that there are polyps that may become cancerous. The stage is called zero, because the cancer has not left its original position. In colon cancer stage one the cancer has extended beyond the innermost layer of the colon into the middle layers of the colon. It these cases surgical interventions can be performed to remove the tumors.
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In colon cancer stage two, the disease starts to evolve and it moves beyond the middle layers of the colon. Stage two is sometimes considered to be an intermediate one, between the first stages and the last stages of colon cancer.



The last stages of colon cancer are stage three and stage four. In stage three, the cancer is found in at least three lymph nodes. Sometimes, the disease is considered to be in stage three if it has affected besides the lymph nodes, other nearby organs. In stage four, colon cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The disease can develop metastases in far organs such as the liver and the lungs, that are the most common affected ones, but also on the brain. When colon cancer develops metastases on the brain the chances of cure are very low. However, this evolution is not very common.

With the disease evolution, the chances of cure decreases. So, if diagnosed in the first stages, the disease can be easily cured and most patients do not get to the advanced stages. But, if colon cancer is diagnosed in stage three and mostly, in stage four, the chances of survival are very low. This happened because surgical intervention can not be performed in all colon cancer cases. Then, treatment can involve also radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the administration of different drugs and medications, and it can be used before and after the surgery also.



The treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the way it evolves and the rapidity with which is spreads and grows. Also, different patient can react different to medications and treatments. That is way, when diagnosed with one of the last stages of colon cancer you do not have to think that cure is impossible. Although survival rates in colon cancer stage three and four are not very optimistic, it does not mean that the disease can not be cured at all. Even if the chances to actually be treated are very low, through medications, pain can be reduced or the cancer growth sopped. This may give some relief to every patient.