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Stage 0
For cancers that are stage 0, the disease has not grown beyond the lining of
the colon or rectum. Therefore surgical removal or destruction of the cancer is
all that is needed. For larger tumors, a rectal or colon resection may be
required.
Stage 1
Stage 1 colon cancers have grown through several layers of the
colon but have not spread outside the colon itself. Standard treatment is a
colon resection with no other treatment generally needed.
Like colon cancer, stage 1 rectal cancers have grown through numerous layers
of tissue but not outside the rectum. The type of surgery used to treat this is
dependant upon the location of the cancer, but the primary treatment is an abdominoperineal resection. Chemotherapy and radiation are sometimes
administered before or after surgery.
Stage 2
Stage 2 colon cancer has penetrated the wall of the colon and spread into
nearby tissue. However, it has not yet reached the lymph nodes. Usually the only
treatment for this stage is a resection. Since some stage 2 colon cancers have a
tendency to recur, the doctor may also decide to treat the patient with
chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Once rectal cancer has reached stage 2, it too has penetrated the walls of
the rectum but has not yet reached the lymph nodes. It is generally treated with
a resection followed by both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Stage 3
Stage 3 is considered an advanced stage of colorectal cancer. The disease has
spread to the lymph nodes, but not to other parts or organs in the body. For
both colon and rectal cancer, sectional surgery is done first and is followed by
chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Stage 4
For patients with stage 4 colorectal cancer, the disease has spread to
distant organs such as the liver, lungs, and ovaries. When the cancer has reached
this stage, surgery is generally aimed at relieving or preventing complications
as opposed to curing the patient of the disease. Occasionally the cancer’s
spread is restricted enough to where it can all be removed by surgery. For stage
4 cancer that cannot be surgically removed, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or
both may be used to alleviate, delay, or prevent symptoms
For stage 4 cancer that has spread to the liver only, regional chemotherapy
can be given directly into the artery that leads to the liver.
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