Colon Cancer
Staging
is the process of finding out how far the cancer has spread.
This is very important because your treatment and the outlook
for your recovery depend on the stage of your cancer. For
early cancer, surgery may be all that is needed. For more
advanced cancer, other treatments such as chemotherapy or
radiation therapy may be used.
There
is more than one system for staging colon or rectal cancer.
Some use numbers and others use letters. But all systems
describe the spread of the cancer through the layers of
the wall of the colon or rectum. They also take into account
whether the cancer has spread to nearby organs or to organs
farther away.
Stages
are often labeled using Roman numerals I through IV (1-4).
In general, the lower the number, the less the cancer has
spread. A higher number, such as stage IV (4), means a more
serious cancer.
For
most people, the stage is not known until after surgery,
so your doctor may wait until then to assign a number. Be
sure to ask your doctor to explain your stage in a way you
understand. This will help you both decide on the best treatment
for you.
Overview: Colon and Rectum Cancer
Clinical Trials
Studies
of promising new treatments are known as clinical trials.
A clinical trial is done only when there is some reason
to believe that the new treatment may be of value to the
patient. Clinical trials are needed in order to find new
and better ways to treat cancer. Treatments used in clinical
trials are often found to have real benefits. The main questions
the researchers want to answer are:
* Is this treatment helpful?
* Does it work better than the one we're now using?
* What side effects does it cause?
* Do the benefits outweigh the side effects?
* Which patients are most likely to find this treatment
helpful?
Clinical
trials are carried out in steps called phases. Each phase
is designed to answer certain questions
Phase
I clinical trials look at the best way to give a new treatment
and how much of it can be given safely. The main purpose
of a phase I study is to test the safety of the new drug.
Phase
II clinical trials are designed to see if the drug works.
Patients are given the highest dose that doesn't cause serious
side effects and then watched closely to see if there is
an effect on the cancer.
Phase
III clinical trials compare the new treatment with standard
treatment. Large numbers of patients are divided into two
groups. The control group receives standard treatment and
the other group receives the new treatment. Everyone is
closely watched to see which treatment is more effective.
The study is stopped if the side effects are too severe
or if one group has much better results than the other.
If
you are in a clinical trial, you will have a team of experts
watching your progress very carefully. However, there are
some risks. No one knows in advance if the treatment will
work or exactly what side effects will occur. That is what
the study is designed to find out. Keep in mind, though,
that even standard treatments have side effects.
Taking
part in a clinical trial is completely up to you. Even after
joining a clinical trial, you are free to drop out of the
study at any time, for any reason. Taking part in the study
will not prevent you from getting other medical care you
may need.
The
American Cancer Society offers a service to patients and
their families that will help match them with a clinical
trial. We will ask you about your cancer, where you live,
and whether you can travel or not. Then our computer will
give you a list of clinical trials that might meet your
needs.
To
use this service, please call our toll-free number (1-800-303-5691)
or log on to our Web site at http://clinicaltrials.cancer.org.
The
National Cancer Institute has current information about
NCI-sponsored clinical trials. You can call the NCI at 1-800-4-CANCER
or visit their Web site at www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials.
Angstrom Minerals Product And Price List
The information on this page has been extracted from
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/
CRI_2_2_3x_after_the_tests_staging_10.asp?sitearea=
