What To Expect From Colon Cancer Therapy

Receiving news about a colon cancer diagnosis can be an incredibly difficult time. The diagnosis can be intimidating, and it may often feel like you have no options. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The cancer death rate has dropped 26% from its peak in 1991; colon cancer treatments have become far more advanced, and it’s far more likely that there are many options for your therapy. When receiving your diagnosis, your doctor will provide you with a list of treatment options available to you. Here are some of the colon cancer therapy methods that you might be offered.

Surgery

Depending on how far it has spread, your doctor may recommend a specific procedure called a colectomy. Your surgeon will remove the affected part of the colon, leaving the healthy parts intact as much as possible. This occasionally will result in the patient requiring a stoma, but this will vary depending on the extent of the surgery. Talk to the doctors at your local cancer treatment center to determine what a surgical procedure would entail for your situation.

Chemotherapy Treatment

Chemotherapy treatment may also be offered as a potential treatment plan for you. Chemotherapy uses a variety of medicines to target rapidly-dividing cells, including cancer cells, and interferes with the cell-division process. This method of treatment has several side effects but is able to treat cancers that have spread to other parts of the body.

Radiation Treatment

If your doctor has diagnosed your cancer during an earlier stage, radiation therapy might be offered as a form of colon cancer therapy. Radiation therapy targets tumors and clusters of cancer cells with gamma-rays, killing the cancer cells. Because this therapy method requires the cancerous cells to be in one location, this is generally not recommended for more advanced stages.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with colon cancer and are seeking treatment options, contact Tennessee Cancer Specialists today to see what colon cancer therapy options are available for you. Early and fast treatment is essential to increasing your chances of a long, healthy life after cancer; the sooner you are able to a specialized cancer treatment center, the more treatment options you will have available to you.