What can I expect after colon surgery?

Once a colonic procedure has been performed, the patient will be examined to ensure that the cancer is properly treated and further treatment may be ordered to ensure that it will not be treated again. However, these do depend on the stage of cancer: [a] diagnosis, [b] surgery.

The following may be the case after surgery:

Stage 0 - from

 Tests are needed to assess the surrounding lymph nodes, liver and lungs to see if they have no cancer cells. This is usually a preventive measure, like stage 0 colon cancer; it does not pass the colonic endometrial metastasis [diffusion] and usually requires only one operation to remove it.

Stage I - from

 This is where cancer cells grow through several layers of the colon, but it has not spread outside the colon wall. A colectomy [surgery to remove some or all of the patient's colon] is usually sufficient without any further treatment by the patient.

second stage - from

 The cancer has metastasized to adjacent tissues but does not transfer to the lymph nodes. Colectomy is commonly used to treat cancer at this stage; however, if cancer is found near the edge of a motor tumor, or if the colon has been blocked, chemotherapy can be used to help treat it.

Chemotherapy usually includes 5-FU [fluorouracil, Adrucil and 5-fluorouracil], capecitabine, formyltetrahydrofolate or oxaliplatin, which may be used alone or in combination. Radiation therapy can also be applied to remove the abdominal area of ​​cancer.

The third phase - from

 The cancer has now metastasized to the lymph nodes around the abdomen; however, it has not been further transferred to other parts of the body. The second colectomy will be a one-day sequence followed by chemotherapy [5-FU, capecitabine, formyltetrahydrofolate or oxaliplatin] for up to 6 weeks.

Radiation therapy can also be used to remove any cancer cells that may remain in the body. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy [no surgery required] can also be ordered if the patient is considered insufficient to support the operation.

Fourth stage - from

 Cancer has metastasized through the colon, lymph nodes and distant body tissues and organs, including: peritoneum [continuous thin slices of abdomen and pelvis], liver, lungs and ovaries [in the case of female patients]. Usually the surgery itself is not enough at this stage.

Chemotherapy can be used to help shrink the tumor before surgery and to give radiation therapy after surgery to eliminate cancer cells in the body. However, after stage IV surgery, the patient's prognosis [life expectancy] was not particularly good, with a survival rate of less than 5% after 5 years, as opposed to an early colon cancer diagnosis survival rate of 90% or higher.

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