Stage Four Colon Cancer

I have a friend who was last week diagnosed with stage four cancer, that started in her colon and spread to her ovaries, liver and parts of her stomach. She is a 23 year old young beautiful girl! How does this happen to such a young person? Cancer really is a silent killer - she had no idea until she collapsed in an airport last week. I would like to know what the survival chances are for stage 4 cancer victims?? =(

Unfortunately, when it is detected at later stages (when distant metastases are present) it is less likely to be curable. Distant metastases means it has spread to the liver, stomach etc.

Pray for her and her family and be strong for her. I hope that she is right with God, because he will ease her pain.

God Bless, and prayers for you all.

2006-07-21 11:30:51 by katygraham1

Tom Howell. Colorectal adenocarcinoma with lung metastases confirmed by biopsy. Already after one month into the Issels Treatment the number and ...

my dad has stage four colon cancer and was diagnosed in mid december. its spread to his liver and lungs and part of his stomach. he also has luekemia. what is the longest he could live with certain treatments?

No one can give you an estimate time on your dad's life. Every individual is different and every persons body reacts differently. In the meantime it would be good for your dad to try and keep his nutrition healthy and he might even try anti-oxidants to help slow down the process of the cancer spreading. Anti- oxidants bind with free radicals and definetly helps to slow down the process. Your dad's condition is serious and advanced. Prepare yourself and accept the fact that he has this disease and ensure spending lots of time with him.Prevention is always better than cure

2008-01-21 18:39:40 by ☮ & ♥

My mother was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer 2 years ago. She is now on her last few months and I want to find something, anything that might help her stay for just a little longer. Anything helps! Trials, no gaurantees we are willing to try ANYTHING!

Stage 4 colon cancer has been researched. I was recently involved in a clinical trial using monoclonal antibodies in patient's with stage 4 colon cancer. The drug has now been approved for use and is under the name of ERBITUX. Monoclonal antibodies are becoming the new trend in treating cancers. A great website to find where some colon cancer trials are going on is at http://www.nci.gov--Good luck in your search!

2006-04-10 15:01:48 by Nesi Nes

If so what kind of treatment did you use?

I'm very sorry to say that stage 4 colon cancer is not curable. Life can be extended by the use of a chemotherapy regimen known as FOLFOX or FOLFIRI. These are great regimens which contain fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and leucovorin for FOLFOX and fluorouracil, leucovorin and irinotecan. Both regimens may also have bevacizumab added which is a new great drug.

The side effects include:
Fluorouracil - diarrhea, mucositis (sores in mouth), myelosuppression (decreased white blood cells).
Oxaliplatin - tingling in fingers and feet (neuropathy), myelosuppression
Irinotecan - severe acute and delayed diarrhea

For the diarrhea they may give atropine or Imodium, for the neuropathy some people like to use Vitamin B6 or IV methypresdnisolone (steroid). Myelosuppression can be treated with things call colony stimulating factors that can increase your white blood cells so you don't get sick.

Another common treatment is surgery where they may remove part of your bowel. You may have a colostomy bag, but this may increase survival significantly since they are removing the primary tumor.

If the cancer has spread to the liver, bones or brain they may use radiation therapy. Especially if it has spread to the bones, radiation can help significantly with bone pain.

I'm very sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Stay positive, I've seen stage 4 colon cancer patients live years on chemotherapy. Not everyone has bad side effects, some tolerate chemo very well. Enojoy life, don't allow this cancer to take away your mind and joy for life. God bless.

2008-07-29 16:41:54 by n.mous

My dad was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. I've done some research and read a few answers here on yahoo. Everyone is saying that this is "a death sentence". I was wondering if anyone knows how long the average life expectancy is of someone with stage four colon cancer...it has spread to the liver and lungs as well.

I dont like putting a date on these kinds of situations, but unfortunately this type of Cancer can be particularly savage and can be quite swift, in as far as some as the cases i have seen and been involved with, (i am a community care worker) Some i have been involved with, can hold on for 3 or 4 years if they are quite healthy, if not they can go as quickly as 6 months from diagnosis.......I apologize for being the bearer of bad news, but the best you can do for your dad is to be there for him, allow him that time to greive, the greiving process is goind to take him through some pretty strong emotions, so you are really going to need to be there for him during this stage, even if you are dealing with your own issues in regards to grief..... and to be close to all of his family, hold his hand when he wants to, and just let him know you love him......other than that i can offer some website that will also give you some pointers as to how to deal with this issue.

They are.......Paliative care explained...involves grief processes and how to deal with death.....
http://www.disability.vic.gov.au/dsonlin e/dsarticles.nsf/(Pages)/Palliative_care _explained?OpenDocument

Grief and bereavement
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_ 06_150903/mad10520_fm.html

2006-10-03 10:27:55 by justwondering