Colon cancer is a disease that affects the colon. It starts in the colon and at the beginning is caused by an abnormal evolution of the healthy cells. The cells divide in an abnormal way, and so the cancerous tumors can be formed. That is way screenings are recommended by doctors at certain periods of time and through different types of tests these polyps can be detected before they evolve into cancer.

At first, the cancer begins with a cancerous polyp developed without any symptoms. If the cancer is discovered before it is actually formed, the cancerous evolution can be treated before it becomes a problem. This is considered the stage zero of the disease. In this phase the cancer can be treated very easy. In stages one and two, the disease usually grows, but it does not leave the place where it has been formed. Stating with stage three colon cancer starts spreading to other parts of the body, in stage three to nearby tissues and organs, and in stage four to far placed organs, such as the liver or the lungs.



So, in stage four colon cancer develops metastases. The metastases are secondary tumors, resulting from the dissemination of the malignant cells through blood and lymph to other organs and tissues of the body. When cancer has created different metastases, the chances of cure are not very high, but that does not mean that it can not be cured at all because not all metastatic cancers are the same.

When diagnosed with one of the first stages of the disease patients start wondering how fast can colon cancer spread and if the disease can be treated before it develops metastases. In early diagnoses colon cancer can be easily cured through surgical interventions that can remove the cancerous tumors. In some cases, colon cancer can reappear, even if the tumor has been removed. However, if there is applied a proper treatment, the disease can be stopped form growing. When treatment is not used, colon cancer can evolve rapidly and it can also spread very quickly.



In general, colon cancer is a disease that grows slowly. It can take many years for colon cancer to be formed. That is way through screenings cancer can be found before it becomes a problem. However, because symptoms often appear when the cancer has evolved, most patients are diagnosed in the last stages of the disease. In some cases the cancer can grow rapidly and evolve from stage two to stage four in only six months. When it starts spreading, colon cancer can spread rapidly to many parts of the body. So, if we try to answer the question how fast colon cancer spreads, the answer is that it can depend a lot on the patient.