Colon Cancer Staging: Assessing Disease Progression and Treatment Planning

Suppose you have been told you have or are at risk for colon cancer but have not spoken to our doctor yet about staging or the treatment options available to you. Dr. Nsikak Umoh is the primary doctor at the Texas Colon and Pilonidal Clinic in Cypress and Woodlands, TX. Our doctor is double board-certified in general and colorectal surgery and can answer all your questions.

What is Cancer Staging? 

A diagnosis of cancer makes life uncertain and scary. Knowing the basic terms related to your cancer can help you take charge and lead the discussion about treatment with your doctor.

When our doctor and members of your treatment team talk about staging, they are referring to how far the cancer has spread in your body. These numbers range from zero to four, with zero being the very early stages of cancer. The lower the number, the less your cancer has spread. The following briefly describes colon cancer stages:

• 0 - Earliest stage, has not grown beyond the colon's mucosa
• 1 - Has passed from mucosa of the colon to the sub-mucosa or muscularis propria but no further
• 2A - Has reached the outermost layers of the colon but no further
• 2B - Cancer cells spread through the colon wall but nowhere else
• 2C - Spread through the colon wall into nearby structures
• 3A - Spread into the submucosa, affecting a few lymph nodes
• 3B - Has spread to the outermost colon layers and into one to six lymph nodes
• 3C - Spread through the rectum or colon and affecting 7 or more lymph nodes
• 4A - Still in the colon but spreading to one other organ or distant lymph node
• 4B - Same as 4A but may involve lymph nodes
• 4C - Same as 4B but involves the abdominal lining 

Treatment Plans for Staged Cancer

The stage of your cancer determines your options for treatment. Such options include removal of the tumor such as removing the cancerous polyp during a colonoscopy, removal at surgery, and in some cases chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Surgery is a major treatment for this type of cancer. If possible, our surgeon removes the cancerous area and takes an additional bit of good tissue with it to make sure it's gone. The area removed will also be reconstructed.

Chemotherapy is used in cases where the cancer has spread.

Call for Your Appointment! 

Call Dr. Umoh of Texas Colon and Pilonidal Clinic in Cypress and Woodlands, TX, to discuss your options for colon cancer treatment. The following are our two locations, The Woodlands, TX (832) 479-2819, and Cypress, TX (832) 501-2790.