Colorectal cancer is curable if treated in the initial phases. But, this specific cancer type is tough to spot in the early stage. The disease is mainly detected in the metastasis stage when surgical treatment is no longer possible. Overlooking the symptoms your body shows can increase the risk factors. The early signs of colorectal cancer include drastic weight loss, exhaustion, constipation, diarrhea, or any certain change in your bowel habits, intolerable gas pains, bloating, and vomiting. In the latter stage, patients might notice dark red blood in their stool. In case you notice the early signs, never take them for granted, get thoroughly diagnosed, and start receiving treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau as early as possible.
In this article, we will walk you through the different treatment options that can improve your health condition and make you cancer-free. So, let’s dive into it.
Advanced Colorectal Cancer Treatments for Treating Different Phases
The treatment option for colorectal cancer primarily depends on its stage and complication levels. First of all, your specialist will conduct a colonoscopy Montreal (colonoscopie Montréal) to detect the cancer stage and accordingly will recommend a suitable treatment. Here are different treatment options that specialists recommend for treating colorectal cancer in different stages.
Stage 0 Treatment
Patients dealing with stage 0 colorectal cancer can combat the disease and become cancer-free with surgical treatments. During the operation, the cancer specialists will remove the malignant tumor or polyp along with the enclosing healthy tissues. The process is known as surgical resection and is renowned as the most effective treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau for patients who are in stage 0.
Stage I Treatment
Stage I colorectal cancer refers to the condition when the tumor cells have just started to spread in the lymph nodes. Even in this stage, there is a high success rate for treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau. Just like stage 0 colorectal cancer, the only suitable and effective treatment is to remove the malignant tumor along with the affected lymph nodes.
Stage II Treatment
In major cancer patients who are in their stage II phase, doctors suggest undergoing surgical treatment. However, the rate at which the cancer cells spread differs from one patient to another. Hence, often, doctors perform a colonoscopy Montreal (colonoscopie Montréal) to understand the condition of the current patient before recommending a treatment for stage II colorectal cancer.
Often some patients need to receive adjuvant chemotherapy as a part of the treatment right after the surgical treatment. The one and only purpose of adjuvant chemotherapy is to remove or destroy the remaining malignant cells. Needless to mention the success rate of treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau in the stage II phase is pretty good.
The majority of patients in the stage II phase do not require to undergo chemotherapy. Specialists recommend chemotherapy only to those patients in whom the malignant cells have spread into the nearby organs. In some situations, patients might need to receive radiotherapy along with chemotherapy before or after the surgery. Also, some patients need to get these therapies both before and after the surgery.
Stage III Treatment
In the early phase of stage III colorectal cancer, specialists might recommend surgery and post-surgery chemotherapy as the treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau. Sometimes, patients with stage III colorectal cancer might also need to receive a clinical trial, however, that totally depends on the condition and the spread rate of the malignant cells. Assessing the health condition of the patients, specialists might even recommend a series of radiotherapy along with chemotherapy, before and after the surgical treatment.
Stage IV Treatment
When the malignant cells are already been spread in different parts of the body it is known as stage IV colorectal cancer. Specialists call it the metastatic stage. When the cancer cells are spread to vital organs like lungs, ovaries, liver, peritoneum tissues, and other distant organs of your body, surgical treatment is no longer an option.
Cancer specialists recommend an amalgamation of different therapies, like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy along with a palliative treatment considering the specific condition and spread rate of cancer cells in the patients. The purpose of palliative care is to relieve stage IV cancer symptoms while improving the health condition of the patient.
Wrapping Up
Patients who become cancer-free after receiving suitable treatment colorectal cancer Gatineau are still exposed to the risk of cancer recurrence. While many remissions of malignant cells are permanent, the threat is still there. Hence, patients should always stay in proper medical guidance. By any chance, if a patient is diagnosed with recurrent cancer, he/she might be recommended for treatments like surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. However, the dosage and combination of the therapies might be different from the former treatment. Cancer might be a deadly disease, but curing it is possible. So, have courage and faith and consult the best cancer specialists in your city to expect the best result.