October 19, 2012

Nursing-Care and Survival for Colon Cancer


Surgery is the most common treatment for colorectal cancer. During surgery, the tumor, a small margin of surrounding healthy bowel, and lymph nodes removed. The surgeon then reconnects the healthy sections of the intestine. In patients with rectal cancer, rectum removed for good. The surgeon then creates a hole opening (colostomy) on the abdominal wall from which the solid waste (feces) in the intestine removed. The nurses are specially trained (enterostomal therapists) can help patients adjust to colostomies, and most patients with colostomies return to a normal lifestyle.

Long-term prognosis after surgery depends on whether the cancer has spread to other organs (metastasis). The risk of metastasis is proportional to the penetration of the cancer into the inside wall of the intestine. In patients with early colon cancer is confined to the outer layer (superficial) bowel wall, surgery  is often the only treatment necessary. These patients can experience long-term survival of more than 80%. In patients with colon cancer that has been advanced, in which the tumor has penetrated into the rear wall of the colon and no evidence of metastasis to organs distant, five-year survival rate is less than 10%.

In some patients, there was no evidence of distant metastasis at the time of surgery, but the cancer has penetrated deeply into the colon wall or reach the lymph nodes nearby. These patients are at risk of tumor recurrence from one of these locally or in remote organs. Chemotherapy in these patients may delay tumor recurrence and improve survival.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. He is a systemic therapy, meaning that the medication travels throughout the body to destroy cancer cells. After colon cancer surgery, some patients may harbor microscopic metastasis (small foci of cancer cells that can not be detected).
Chemotherapy given immediately after surgery to destroy these microscopic cells. Chemotherapy given in this manner is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Studies recently have shown increased survival and delay of tumor recurrence in some patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy within five weeks of operation. Most drug regimens have included the use of 5-flourauracil (5-FU). On the other hand, chemotherapy for shrinking or controlling the growth of tumors has been disappointing. Improvement in overall survival for patients with widespread metastasis has still not been convincingly demonstrated.

Chemotherapy is usually given in a doctor, the hospital as an outpatient, or at home. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles of treatment periods followed by recovery periods. Side effects of chemotherapy vary from person to person, and it also depends of the substances (agents) are given. Modern chemotherapy agents are usually well tolerated, and side effects can be controlled. In general, anti-cancer drugs destroy cells that grow and divide rapidly. Therefore, red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells are often affected by chemotherapy. Side effects are common, including anemia, loss of energy, easy bruising, and a low resistance to infections. Cells in hair roots and intestines also divide rapidly. Therefore, chemotherapy can cause hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Radiation therapy in colorectal cancer has been limited to the treatment for colorectal cancer. There were a reduction in local recurrence of rectal cancer in patients who received radiation before or after surgery. Without radiation, the risk of rectal cancer recurrence is almost 50%. With radiation, the risk is lowered to about 7%. Side effects of radiation treatment include fatigue, loss of pubic hair (pelvic hair) temporary or permanent (forever), and skin irritation in the treated areas.
Other treatments have included the use of local infusion of chemotherapeutic agents into the liver, the most common sites of metastasis. It involves placement of a pump into the blood supply of the liver that can deliver high doses of drug directly to liver tumors. The figures respond to these treatments has been reported as high as 80%. Side effects, however, can be serious. Substances that additional experiments are being considered for the treatment for colorectal cancer include the use of antibodies that look for cancers that were tied to drugs that fight cancer. Such combinations can specifically seek and destroy tumor tissues in the body. Other treatments seek to strengthen the immune system, the body's own defense system, in a more effective effort to attack and control colon cancer. In patients with low risk-risk operation, but who have large tumors that cause obstruction or bleeding, laser treatment can be used to destroy cancerous tissue and relieve the symptoms associated with it. Substances that are still highly experimental include the use of photodynamic therapy. In this treatment, a light-sensitive substance taken up by tumors that can then be activated to cause tumor destruction.
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Nursing-Care and Survival for Colon Cancer


Surgery is the most common treatment for colorectal cancer. During surgery, the tumor, a small margin of surrounding healthy bowel, and lymph nodes removed. The surgeon then reconnects the healthy sections of the intestine. In patients with rectal cancer, rectum removed for good. The surgeon then creates a hole opening (colostomy) on the abdominal wall from which the solid waste (feces) in the intestine removed. The nurses are specially trained (enterostomal therapists) can help patients adjust to colostomies, and most patients with colostomies return to a normal lifestyle.

Long-term prognosis after surgery depends on whether the cancer has spread to other organs (metastasis). The risk of metastasis is proportional to the penetration of the cancer into the inside wall of the intestine. In patients with early colon cancer is confined to the outer layer (superficial) bowel wall, surgery  is often the only treatment necessary. These patients can experience long-term survival of more than 80%. In patients with colon cancer that has been advanced, in which the tumor has penetrated into the rear wall of the colon and no evidence of metastasis to organs distant, five-year survival rate is less than 10%.

In some patients, there was no evidence of distant metastasis at the time of surgery, but the cancer has penetrated deeply into the colon wall or reach the lymph nodes nearby. These patients are at risk of tumor recurrence from one of these locally or in remote organs. Chemotherapy in these patients may delay tumor recurrence and improve survival.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. He is a systemic therapy, meaning that the medication travels throughout the body to destroy cancer cells. After colon cancer surgery, some patients may harbor microscopic metastasis (small foci of cancer cells that can not be detected).
Chemotherapy given immediately after surgery to destroy these microscopic cells. Chemotherapy given in this manner is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Studies recently have shown increased survival and delay of tumor recurrence in some patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy within five weeks of operation. Most drug regimens have included the use of 5-flourauracil (5-FU). On the other hand, chemotherapy for shrinking or controlling the growth of tumors has been disappointing. Improvement in overall survival for patients with widespread metastasis has still not been convincingly demonstrated.

Chemotherapy is usually given in a doctor, the hospital as an outpatient, or at home. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles of treatment periods followed by recovery periods. Side effects of chemotherapy vary from person to person, and it also depends of the substances (agents) are given. Modern chemotherapy agents are usually well tolerated, and side effects can be controlled. In general, anti-cancer drugs destroy cells that grow and divide rapidly. Therefore, red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells are often affected by chemotherapy. Side effects are common, including anemia, loss of energy, easy bruising, and a low resistance to infections. Cells in hair roots and intestines also divide rapidly. Therefore, chemotherapy can cause hair loss, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Radiation therapy in colorectal cancer has been limited to the treatment for colorectal cancer. There were a reduction in local recurrence of rectal cancer in patients who received radiation before or after surgery. Without radiation, the risk of rectal cancer recurrence is almost 50%. With radiation, the risk is lowered to about 7%. Side effects of radiation treatment include fatigue, loss of pubic hair (pelvic hair) temporary or permanent (forever), and skin irritation in the treated areas.
Other treatments have included the use of local infusion of chemotherapeutic agents into the liver, the most common sites of metastasis. It involves placement of a pump into the blood supply of the liver that can deliver high doses of drug directly to liver tumors. The figures respond to these treatments has been reported as high as 80%. Side effects, however, can be serious. Substances that additional experiments are being considered for the treatment for colorectal cancer include the use of antibodies that look for cancers that were tied to drugs that fight cancer. Such combinations can specifically seek and destroy tumor tissues in the body. Other treatments seek to strengthen the immune system, the body's own defense system, in a more effective effort to attack and control colon cancer. In patients with low risk-risk operation, but who have large tumors that cause obstruction or bleeding, laser treatment can be used to destroy cancerous tissue and relieve the symptoms associated with it. Substances that are still highly experimental include the use of photodynamic therapy. In this treatment, a light-sensitive substance taken up by tumors that can then be activated to cause tumor destruction.