The colon is an important part of the digestive system. It is a long and muscular tube which forms a significant part of the large intestines.
Colon cancer affects the first 4 to 5 feet of the large intestines. If the cancer spreads outside the colon and involves other organs such as the lymph nodes, it is known as metastatic colon cancer.
Metastatic colon cancer usually involves the liver, but when it reaches its later stages, it may involve several other organs as well. For instance, stage 4 metastatic colon cancer may involve the lymphatic system, pancreas, and other digestive organs.
Like all other cancers, the exact causes of colon cancer are not known, and therefore, the metastasis also remains a mystery. However, the medical community has been able to identify several risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing colon cancer. Here are some of them.
The symptoms of metastatic colon cancer depend on the exact organs that the metastasis involves. The most common symptoms of colon cancer include:
Surgery is the most common treatment of colon cancer. When the tumors are localized, surgery can help remove them. However, when the cancer has metastasized, a combination of chemotherapy and surgery may be used for treatment. In advanced stages, biological therapy may be used to treat colon cancer. In really advanced cases, the cancer is treated with the help of a colostomy in which a part of the colon is removed. Palliative care may be provided with the help of radiotherapy.
The prognosis of metastatic cancer is very seldom anything but poor. If the cancer has spread far from the location of origin, the prognosis is poorer still. In most cases, metastatic cancer patients are only given palliative care because remission is rare in such a case.
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