apparently colon/bowel cancer is the easiest to "cure" in earlier stage. is this true?

5 Comments

1. ExeneC says:

   April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine, or bowel. When diagnosed early, the 5 year survival rate is high (something like 74% for Stage I). The statistics (it’s the leading cause, etc.) are somewhat skewed because many people who develop colon cancer are elderly and have comorbidities like heart disease and diabetes.

   More info here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cancer/DS00035
2. peanut says:

   April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   I don’t know about easy but catching it early increases the survival rate greatly. Many people don’t find out that they have this cancer until it is in its advanced stages because they don’t go to the doctor to get screened for the disease. People 50+ should have colo-rectal exams every two years.
3. Cheese says:

   April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine, or bowel. When diagnosed early, the 5 year survival rate is high (something like 74% for Stage I). The statistics (it’s the leading cause, etc.) are somewhat skewed because many people who develop colon cancer are elderly and have comorbidities like heart disease and diabetes.
4. cross-stitch kelly says:

   April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   Bowel and colon cancer are the same–both are cancer of the large intestine. There are 4 stages: Stage 0 is basically just a pre-cancerous polyp that can be removed during a colonoscopy that needs no further treatment. Stage 1 means that the tumor has attached to the lining of the colon, but has not gone further. With surgery (removal of that section of the colon), the cancer is about 95% curable. Stage 2 means that the tumor has invaded the muscle of the colon, but has still not gone beyond that. At this point, with treatment (surgery, plus possibly chemo, depending on the doctor), the success rate is about 85%. At stage 3, the cancer has spread outside the colon and into the lymph nodes, but it hasn’t gone any further. If 5 or more nodes are invaded, the chances of success are worse, but overall the success rate is about 60% with just surgery, and 75-78% with chemo too. Stage 4 means the cancer has spread to other organs, and at this point the outcome is pretty bleak. I believe the success rate at this stage drops to only about 20%.
5. "Kh a a a a a n n" ! ! says:

   April 19, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   I have heard that if they catch it early, it is often easy to fix. But if its let go, then it is very hard to treat.

   Good luck and God Bless you