Where does bowel cancer spread first?

Colon cancer most often spreads to the liver, but it can also spread to other places like the lungs, brain, peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), or to distant lymph nodes.

What is colorectal pathway?

Welcome to the North Bristol electronic straight to test 2 week wait colorectal pathway. This pathway means GPs can book tests directly and we will track the patients internally as a 2 week wait. This pathway has improved cancer performance and was shortlisted for a BMJ award.

What is the life expectancy of someone with bowel cancer?

For colon cancer, the overall 5-year survival rate for people is 63%. If the cancer is diagnosed at a localized stage, the survival rate is 91%. If the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 72%.

What is the two week pathway?

What is a ‘Two Week Wait’ referral? A ‘Two Week Wait’ referral is a request from your General Practitioner (GP) to ask the hospital for an urgent appointment for you, because you have symptoms that might indicate that you have cancer.

Can bowel cancer be cured completely?

If it’s detected early enough, treatment can cure bowel cancer and stop it coming back. Unfortunately, a complete cure is not always possible and there’s sometimes a risk that the cancer could come back at a later stage. A cure is highly unlikely in more advanced cases that cannot be removed completely by surgery.

Does bowel cancer spread quickly?

In most cases, colon and rectal cancers grow slowly over many years. Most of those cancers start as a growth called a polyp. Taking out a polyp early may keep it from turning into cancer.

What is a 2WW medical?

Two-Week Wait A term of art referring to the so-called cancer targets in the UK, created in the wake of the Calman Hine report, which set time frames within which patients are to be seen by an oncologist after being referred by their GP.

What are the treatment options for bowel cancer?

This guide provides information about meeting your healthcare team, cancer staging and deciding your treatment. It explains your treatment options, from surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy to targeted treatments.

What’s the best way to treat Stage 0 colon cancer?

Most adjuvant treatment is given for about 6 months. Since stage 0 colon cancers have not grown beyond the inner lining of the colon, surgery to take out the cancer is often the only treatment needed. In most cases this can be done by removing the polyp or taking out the area with cancer through a colonoscope (local excision).

Which is the best treatment for Advanced colon cancer?

For people with certain gene changes in their cancer cells, another option after initial chemotherapy might be treatment with an immunotherapy drug such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda). For advanced cancers, radiation therapy can also be used to help prevent or relieve symptoms such as pain.

What kind of surgery do you need for colon cancer?

For cancers not in a polyp, partial colectomy ─ surgery to remove the section of colon that has cancer and nearby lymph nodes ─ is the standard treatment. You typically won’t need any more treatment.