Colon cancer treatment

 

All medical info and patients experiences related to colon cancer treatment in order to better follow the discussion between Lisa whose dad had colon cancer and Mag whose father underwent colon cancer surgery 2 weeks ago.

 

Read first what doctors can tell you about colon cancer treatments and read more below many cancer stories about patients and their loved ones needing to deal with colon cancer.

 

Notice that:

 

• in a conventional medicine prognosis, the patient’s general health comes last
   
• in all our cancer survival stories we stress on doing everything you can to improve your general health first!

 

Wikipedia also has a huge coverage about colorectal cancer.

 

Colon cancer treatments according to your doctor

 

Prognosis or chance of recovery depends on:

 

• cancer stage : whether the cancer is in the inner lining of the colon only, involves the whole colon, or has spread to other places in the body. There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body:
   
• through tissue invading the surrounding normal tissue
   
• the cancer can invades the lymph system, travel through the lymph vessels to reach other places in the body
  
   
• through the blood invading the veins and capillaries reaching other places in the body
   
• the blood levels of the Carcino Embryonic Antigen – CEA is a substance in the blood that may be increased when cancer is present – before treatment begins
   
• whether the cancer has blocked the colon (symptoms of constipation) or has created a hole in the colon
   
• whether it’s a recurring cancer or not
   
• the patient’s general health

 

Colon cancer treatment options depend on:

 

• the stage of the cancer
   
• whether the cancer has recurred
   
• the patient’s general health

 

Unlike what you read above, we repeat what we learned about surviving metastatic liver cancer:

 

Put your general health first!

And do everything you know in order to achieve this.

 

Standard treatments of colon cancer

 

1. Surgery to removing the cancer in an operation is the most common treatment for all stages of colon cancer. Lots of names for different types of surgery:

 

• local excision : putting a tube (a colonoscope during a procedure called colonoscopy) through the rectum into the colon and cut the cancer out. When the cancer is found in a polyp the surgery is called a polypectomy
   
• resection or partial colectomy : removing the cancer and a small amount of healthy tissue around it + removing lymph nodes near the colon to examine them under the microscope to see whether the cancer has spread into their or not
   
• resection and colostomy: when the doctor is not able to sew the 2 ends of the colon back together, a stoma or opening is made on the outside of the body for waste to pass through in a bag outside the body (colo-stomy). When the lower colon has healed, the bag can be removed. When the doctor has to remove the entire lower colon, the stoma will be permanent
   
• Radio Frequency Ablation: a special probe with tiny electrodes is inserted directly through the skin or through an incision in the abdomen to kill cancer cells
   
• Cryosurgery or cryotherapy: a treatment using an instrument freezing and destroying abnormal tissue

 

2. Chemotherapy: the well known cancer treatment using drugs to stop the growth of "fast growing cells" which means most likely your cancer cells and other healthy cells of your body (like the ones in charge of your hair). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated:

 

• systemic chemotherapy is chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, enters the bloodstream and reaches cancer cells throughout the body. Xeloda is the so called "miracle oral chemotherapy drug" when it comes to treating colon cancer. Our father however never got Xeloda for 2 reasons:
   
• it’s not because it is taken orally, that it won’t cause the well known side effects of chemotherapy
   
• farther’s primary cancer wasn’t found, so guessing he would have colon cancer and then giving Xeloda of course would have been all but scientific. (Jim’s son who has a stoma and is surviving metastatic liver cancer clearly spread from the colon has been given Xeloda amongst other chemotherapy drugs)
   
• regional chemotherapy is chemotherapy placed directly into a specific place in the body like the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen. In this way the chemotherapy drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those regional areas
   
• chemoembolization of the hepatic artery may be used to specifically treat a cancer that has spread to the liver by blocking the main artery that supplies blood to the liver and injecting anticancer drugs between the blockage and the liver. Ideally the liver’s arteries deliver the drugs throughout the liver with only a small amount of the drug reaching other parts of the body.

 

3. Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing:

 

• external radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation towards the cancer
   
• internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer, used with positive results for treating prostate cancer

 

4. New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials

 

5. Biologic therapy, biotherapy or immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Although this sounds like the most logical way to cure cancer, little is done to boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against cancer.

 

We urge you to consider any of these 350 natural cancer treatments, the power of Magalie Hall’s prayers and anything else that boosts your natural health like :

 

• ‘smile is the best remedy’
   
• eat healthy and only organic food
   
• exercise: our bodies are made for walking!
   
• reduce stress, increase relaxation
   
• keep a positive mindset, eliminate negative self-fulfilling prophecies
   
• ‘love conquers everything’, or like Patrick Swayze says :
  

  gotta have a dog

 

What our readers have to say about colon cancer treatments

 

• Colon cancer spread to liver
  One of the many contributions of Jim who’s son is surviving colon cancer that spread to the liver. It all started with the doctors doing an emergency colon surgery to remove a tumor that was wrongly diagnosed as constipation…
   
• How to survive metastatic liver cancer?
  A dialogue between 2 of our metastatic liver cancer survivors Trish and Dan with more related info about colon cancer staging and why staging is important for treating cancer:
   
• Stage iv colon cancer
  What is stage 4 colon cancer according to doctors, patients and their loved ones: the difference between book knowledge and every day life with cancer.
  The difference between:
   
• the doctors term "quality of life’ and
   
• the reality that you won’t want anybody to go through this kind of "quality".
   
• Lisa’s father’s colon cancer spread to his liver
  Lisa’s father has had over 130 colon cancer chemotherapy and/or liver cancer treatments in 5 years and still is not in remission.
   
• Colon cancer metastasized to liver
  In this post we explain how a colon cancer ’suddenly’ becomes a metastatic liver cancer, related to Lisa’s father who has colon cancer metastasized to liver.
   
• Cancer treatment options
  After Lisa asked all of us what alternative cancer treatment options we have experienced, I give my story: "Once we knew father was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer, I did a lot of cancer treatment research like…"
   
• Colon cancer chemotherapy
  Or trail and error… Vicky shares her father’s colon cancer chemotherapy and the scary chemotherapy side effects.
   
• Bowel cancer and metastatic liver cancer
  Lyndsey’s father – only 55 years old – shares the cancer treatments of her father who has bowel cancer and secondary liver cancer : not curable according to his doctors.
   
• Metastatic liver cancer is unfair
  Why is metastatic liver cancer so unfair asks Lyndsey
   
• What do you say to man who is going to die
  Charlotte shares the story of her father who after 1 year of chemo starts resisting the chemotherapy he gets to cure his colon cancer and secondary liver cancer.
   
• Metastatic liver cancer prognosis
  Linda’s aunt of 80 years was diagnosed with secondary colon cancer on her liver. She had two tumors 6cm and 3cm. One was ablated but in fear of causing other complications, Linda’s aunt has decided to not have any further treatment.
   
• Please add your cancer story!
  KA shares the story and treatments of her husband who was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer to the liver almost 2 years ago. (note to myself: need to compile that free cancer support e-book)

 

Colon cancer treatment conclusion

 

We notice that many of our metastatic liver cancer stories mention colon cancer or colorectal cancer.

 

Trisha and Jim’s son, 2 of our secondary liver cancer survivors have a primary colon cancer.

 

Modern medicine focuses on the removal of the cancer first with surgery or chemotherapy.

 

Our cancer survivors show you that in order to beat cancer you need to focus on everything that improves your health and boosts your immune system.

 

Don’t look for "1 miracle cure" but focus on everything to improve your general health.