The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2009, about 106,100 new cases of colon cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Colon cancer and rectal cancer are often grouped together as colorectal cancer, but either type also could be called colorectal cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Once colon cancer is diagnosed, the disease will be staged. This involves assigning a numerical stage to the cancer, based on the spread and extent of disease. Staging helps guide treatment and prognosis.
Stage III
Stage III colon cancer, also known as Dukes C colon cancer, is broken down into sub-stages; Stage IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC, according to the National Cancer Institute. In Stage IIIA, the cancer has spread to the middle parts of the colon wall, and up to three lymph nodes. A Stage IIIB cancer has spread to up to three lymph nodes and past the middle layers of the wall of the colon; to tissues around the colon or rectum; or to surrounding organs and/or the lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. Stage IIIC cancer has reached four or more lymph nodes and to or past the middle layers of the wall of the colon; to surrounding tissues of the colon or rectum; or to surrounding organs and/or the peritoneum, according to the National Cancer Institute. The five year survival rate, or the percentage of patients alive five years post-diagnosis, is also split into sub-stages. For Stage IIIA, it is 83 percent; for Stage IIIB it is 64 percent; and for Stage IIIC it is 44 percent.
Stage IV
The final stage of colon cancer, Stage IV, is also known as Dukes D colon cancer. A Stage IV diagnosis is made when the colon cancer metastasizes, or spreads, to distant organs, such as the liver, lungs or ovaries. The five year survival rate for Stage IV colorectal cancer is 8 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
Treatment for the Final Stages of Colon Cancer
For Stage III colon cancer, the National Cancer Institute lists several treatment options: resection and/or anastomosis (joining the healthy parts of the colon together after removing the diseased part) and chemotherapy; or, under the guidance of your doctor, joining a clinical trial of chemotherapy, radiation and/or antibody therapy. For Stage IV colon cancer, surgery can remove the cancerous areas of the colon, as well as parts of other organs to which the cancer has spread. You can also join a clinical trial (under your doctor's care) or, to treat symptoms of metastasized cancer that are causing discomfort, chemotherapy or radiation may be offered. The aim of these treatments is not to cure the cancer, but to make you comfortable and enhance your quality of life.
