Colon cancer develops in the large intestine. When it is diagnosed, the doctor will give it a "stage," which signifies how big the cancer is and how far it has progressed. When classified as stage III, it means the cancer has spread beyond the inner tissue layers where it first formed and is now into other tissues, to other body organs and into the lymph nodes. Because of this progression, the treatment options for stage III colon cancer are more aggressive.
Surgery
The first line of treatment in stage III colon cancer is surgery. In stage III, the cancer is no longer a small cluster of cells, as in stage I, but instead it has grown larger, affecting more of the colon. Removal of the entire cancerous area of the colon is a must. The National Institutes of Health refer to this as a bowel resection, as the diseased part of the colon is removed; if there is enough of the colon left, the surgeon will section the two healthy ends back together. If there is not enough of the colon left, he will resection part of the bowel to the outer wall of the stomach and attach a colostomy bag, which collects the body's waste. Surgery can cure up to 90 percent of colon cancer cases, as long as the cancer remains in the walls of the colon. However, since in stage III colon cancer the cancerous cells have spread beyond the bowel walls and into the lymph nodes, surgery will help only 30 to 50 percent of patients.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is often the second stage of treatment after surgery. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells within the body. These drugs can be delivered through pill form or by way of intravenous injection. The NIH recommends that patients with stage III colon cancer should receive chemotherapy for six to eight months following surgery. The recommended chemotherapeutic agent is 5-FU, or 5-fluorouracil, as it has been shown to increase the chance of colon cancer cure among those who have it. The American Cancer Society reports that chemotherapy can lengthen the survival time of many patients.
Radiation
Radiation is the use of high amounts of energy rays to kill the cancer cells and to shrink the cancer tumors. Radiation can be given from outside the body (external radiation) as well as inside the body. Internal radiation involves implanting radioactive compounds into the tumor. Radiation is used before and after surgery. Before surgery, it can be helpful in shrinking the size of a colon tumor, making it easier to remove. After surgery, it is often used in combination with chemotherapy to attack any remaining cancer cells that may have been missed during the surgery. Radiation is usually only used in colon cancer cases when the cancer has attached to the internal organs, and not to treat the spread of the cancer through the lymph nodes.
