how often does cancer recur?

Question

stage 2 colon cancer, recurred once in lymph nodes

Answer 1

Cancer is classified in four different stages in order for a doctor to know how to treat the disease.

The ACS gives a good breakdown for stages and grades of colon cancer.

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_colon_and_rectum_cancer_staged.asp

As for your question, cancer means abnormal cells which have the ability to spred to local or distant areas within the body. Cells can be mircroscopic and can be picked up by the blood stream or by the lymphatic system. Cancer cells can spred to almost any area within the body as they travel the same paths as normal cells do. When cancer cells spred in this manner it is called metastasis.

Treatment for metastasis is usually systemic chemotherapy because chemo too will follow the same path through the blood stream and lymphatic system.

Some patients at high risk for relapse undergo adjuvant chemotherapy (no detectable cancer) for a determined time. Unfortunately, unless there has been previous detectable cancer which has had a response to chemotherapy there is little way to know if the chemo is working or not. Thus, it is possible that one microscopic cancer cell can escape detection and start the cancer all over again.

It is also possible for cancer cells to build up a resistance to certain chemo drugs and stop working.

Cancer can reoccur at any time. However, statistics have shown that most reoccurences will happen two years after treatment. In order to catch a reoccurence early cancer patients should have a scheduled CT or other diagnostic every three months for two years, after the two year mark the CT can be every six months, and at the five year mark it can be a yearly basis. This is considered a surveillance protocol and different cancers will sometimes have different surveillance protocols . . so make sure you discuss this with your doctor. Catching the cancer in the early stages is the best way to control it. Too, you should know that the longer a patient goes with 'no evidence of disease' than the more likely that it will not reoccur.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Expectations (prognosis):


How well a patient does depends on many things, including the stage of the cancer. In general, when treated at an early stage, more than 90% of patients survive at least 5 years after their diagnosis. (This is called the 5-year survival rate.) However, only about 39% of colorectal cancer is found at an early stage. The 5-year survival rate drops considerably once the cancer has spread.

If the patient's colon cancer does not come back (recur) within 5 years, it is considered cured. Stage I, II, and III cancers are considered potentially curable. In most cases, stage IV cancer is not curable.

Answer 3

Due to the doctors applying radiation to the treatment of the first cases of cancer, there is approximately a 45-65% chance of reoccurence overall. For more info check out http://www.emfscience.net .

Answer 4

When a tumor enters the blood stream, it can travel althroughout the body w/out detection. Just stay regular with your post cancer checkups and you'll be fine.

Best Regards,

LMK