Colon Cancer Prognosis 101

Colon cancer prognosis is the expected outcome of the disease in the individual. This varies from patient to patient, and depends on the type, stage and location of the cancer in the body. Other factors that can change the prognosis of colon cancer include the patient's age, general health and response to treatment. This brief article will provide some more useful information which should prove to be helpful.

Doctor's determining a patient's colon cancer prognosis typically take a look at all factors that could affect the outcome of the disease to make a thorough decision. When studying statistics, five-year survival rates often are used and doctors sometimes base their prognosis on is treated on a unique basis. But it is important for patients to understand that these are estimates, and not necessarily definitive rules to go by.

The difficult part about the prognosis stage is that the patient and his or her family face "unknowns." The doctor can't always give an exact answer as to what will happen, and it is up to the patient how much information he or she wants to receive. It is important for the patient to remember that the prognosis is a prediction, and is not necessarily 100 percent accurate.

Doctors should be kept informed of symptoms from the start, even when the cancer is still in beginning stages or if the patient feels he or she might have cancer. Detecting it early is a good way to save a life, and screenings test people when they don't even have symptoms, just to be on the safe side.

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