- Stage 0
The tumor is in situ or is confined to the innermost tissue of the bowel.
It does not exhibit any outward warning signs or symptoms but can be found if you undergo colonoscopy. If you notice any abnormal changes in your bowel movements, please see your doctor.
Examples of abnormal changes are if you used to move your bowels daily and now you do it either only 2 to 3 times a week -- constipation -- or 2 to 3 times a day -- diarrhea -- and this happens frequently.
- Stage 1
The tumor has now spread and formed outside the innermost lining of the bowel walls. But it is still confined in the middle layers of the bowel.
The tumor is also called Dukes A bowel tumor.
Surgery is the recommended treatment. 5-year survival rate for patients who undergo surgery is 95%. This means if there are 100 patients who undergo surgery with this type of cancer, 95 of them will live after 5 years.
Click here if you would like to learn more about options in treating colon tumor.
- Stage 2
5 year survival rate is 75% to 80% and the tumor is known as Dukes B.
Colon cancer staging for the second stage involves Stages 2A and 2B to describe the tumor.
The difference between stages 2A and 2B is the extent of penetration.
In Stage 2A, the tumor has spread beyond the middle layers of the tissues in the walls of your bowel to nearby tissues surrounding the colon or the rectum.
In Stage 2B, the tumor has spread...
to the nearby organs, and/or
to the tissues that line the abdominal wall and that cover the organs in the abdomen.
Surgery is also recommended for both stages 2A and 2B.
- Stage 3
5 year survival rate is down further to 40% to 50% as lymph nodes now appear. The cancerous cell is now called Dukes C.
Stage 3 is described from stages A to C.
In Stage 3A, the tumor has spread...
to the middle layers of colon wall tissues, and
to 1 to 3 lymph nodes.
In Stage 3B, the cancer has spread...
to nearby tissues surrounding the rectum and the bowel,
to nearby organs and tissues covering the abdomen and its organs, and
to 1 to 3 lymph nodes.
In Stage 3C, the cancer has not only spread but has affected 4 or more lymph nodes.
Surgery is the main treatment for stages 3A to 3C but you have to receive chemotherapy after your surgery for 6 to 8 months.
- Stage 4
It is also known as advanced stage in which the tumor is called Dukes D. Survival rate is very slim at 10% to 20%. Abdominal pains is one of the signs of advanced tumor.
The tumor has now metastasized to many of the nearby lymph nodes and to distant organs such as the liver and the lungs.
