Colorectal cancer affects a section of the colon located in front of the rectum. The disease usually affects older people, mainly in the second half of life, and is usually preceded by benign colon polyps. The above-mentioned polyps, which precede almost all tumors in the large intestine, should be regularly checked by the doctor and removed in due course.
They usually develop from the mucous membrane tissue (mucous epithelium) that lines the inside of the colon. These cells divide very frequently and are therefore much more susceptible to uncontrolled growths in this area. A characteristic symptom is undoubtedly blood in the stool.
In general, changes in the consistency of the stool and also in stool habits are often noticeable. Since a tumor requires a lot of energy, it is characteristic that patients lose weight in a very short period of time, often without meaning to. The body has to struggle hard with the weight loss, the blood loss and the serious illness, and often tiredness and listlessness become noticeable. In addition, many patients complain of severe abdominal pain.
Stadiums
If cancer is diagnosed, a so-called staging is always performed. This means that the disease is divided into stages. Firstly, this concerns the primary tumor.
This is the tumor that represents the causative cancer. In addition, the lymph nodes are divided into stages. Lymph nodes connect numerous organs with each other as they transport lymph away from the body.
This is how metastases often spread. In addition, metastases, if they are present at all, are divided into stages at the end. The stage of the tumor itself is called T1 to 4.
The stage of the lymph nodes by N0 to 2 and the metastases by M0 to 1. 0 means that no lymph nodes are affected, while 1 means that regional lymph nodes (surrounding the organ) are affected, and in stage N2 more distant lymph nodes are affected. Stage 0 has the best prognosis here.
In the case of metastases, M0 means that there are no metastases and M1 means that there are distant metastases, i.e. that other organs are affected. Stage M0 has the best prognosis. Stage 1 of colon cancer is when no lymph nodes are affected, the tumor has not yet spread to other organs, and it is still very small.
It has only affected the superficial cells and has not yet penetrated the muscle layer. The chances of recovery are extremely good at this stage. Often the entire tumor can be removed by surgery and the prognosis is very good.
In stage 2 of colon cancer, there are also no metastases to be found, nor are any lymph nodes affected. Nevertheless, the tumor is significantly larger and has worked its way into deeper tissue layers. Here too, surgery is often sufficient and the prognosis is also very good in most cases.
In stage 3 of colon cancer, the tumor has continued to grow significantly and has spread so far that surrounding lymph nodes are affected, but lymph nodes further away can also be affected. There are no metastases yet. At this stage, surgery is no longer sufficient.
All affected lymph nodes must be removed and chemotherapy or radiotherapy is also used. The prognosis here is already not so good. In stage 4 of colorectal cancer, metastases in other organs are added to the affected lymph nodes, i.e. so-called daughter tumors. The tumor can no longer be removed simply by surgery. Extensive treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy is necessary, but the prognosis is rather poor.
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