What Is Advanced Cancer
Advanced cancer is most often used to describe cancers that cannot be cured. This means cancers that wont totally go away and stay away completely with treatment. However, some types of advanced cancer can be controlled over a long period of time and are thought of as an ongoing illness.
Even if advanced cancer cant be cured, treatment can sometimes:
- Shrink the cancer
- Help relieve symptoms
- Help you live longer
For some people, the cancer may already be advanced when they first learn they have the disease. For others, the cancer may not become advanced until years after it was first diagnosed.
Advanced cancers can be locally advanced or metastatic.
Locally advanced means that cancer has grown outside the body part it started in but has not yet spread to other parts of the body. For example, some cancers that start in the brain may be considered advanced because of their large size or closeness to important organs or blood vessels. This can make them life-threatening even though they havent spread to other parts of the body. But other locally advanced cancers, such as some prostate cancers, may be cured.
Metastatic cancers have spread from where they started to other parts of the body. Cancers that have spread are often thought of as advanced when they cant be cured or controlled with treatment. Not all metastatic cancers are advanced cancers. Some cancers, such as testicular cancer, can spread to other parts of the body and still be very curable.
Where Does Colon Cancer Spread
When you are diagnosed with colon cancer it means that you had abnormal cells invade your colon. The abnormal cells grow into colon polyps. Not all colon polyps are cancerous. Sometimes the polyps turn cancerous and can spread to surrounding tissues.
Colon cancer symptoms are often mild and can be missed early on in the disease. This means you may not notice any symptoms until the disease has progressed into advanced stages and spread beyond the colon. This is why it is important to get screened for colon cancer at each yearly physical after the age of 50. Once the disease has spread it may be harder to treat.
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Can You Prevent The Cancer From Spreading
Preventing colon cancer from spreading requires early detection. Colon cancer often doesnt have symptoms until the disease is advanced. It is recommended to get yearly screenings after the age of 50. If colon cancer is found in the early stages, removal of affected polyps can prevent it from spreading.
If you are found to have early stage colon cancer, treating it right away is the best prevention against spreading. When you wonder, where does colon cancer spread? the answer is usually into the walls of the colon from a diseased polyp. The doctor can easily remove the polyps with a simple procedure known as a, sigmoidoscopy.
Then, following through with recommended chemotherapy and/or radiation can help further prevent the spread of colon cancer.
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Why Cancer Cells Tend To Spread To The Parts Of The Body They Do
Where a cancer starts is linked to where it will spread. Most cancer cells that break free from the primary tumor are carried in the blood or lymph system until they get trapped in the next downstream organ or set of lymph nodes. This explains why breast cancer often spreads to underarm lymph nodes, but rarely to lymph nodes in the belly. Likewise, there are many cancers that commonly spread to the lungs. This is because the heart pumps blood from the rest of the body through the lungs blood vessels before sending it elsewhere.
What Causes Cutaneous Metastasis
Cutaneous metastasis occurs when cancerous cells break away from a primary tumour and make their way to the skin through the blood circulation or lymphatic system. Most malignanttumours can produce skin metastasis, but some are more likely to do so than others. When the following cancers have metastasised, they have quite a high chance of affecting the skin.
- Melanoma 45% chance of developing cutaneous metastasis
- Breast cancer 30%
- Cancer of the larynx 16%
- Cancer of the oral cavity 12%
The incidence of skin metastasis varies but is somewhere between 310% in patients with a primary malignant tumour.
The sex and age of an individual also appear to determine the frequency of skin metastasis in certain primary cancers. The reason for this is unknown. In women, about 70% of cutaneous metastases originate from the breast. In men, cutaneous metastases are most often from the lung , colon , skin or oral cavity .
Below lists the common internal cancers that cause skin metastasis in decreasing order of frequency according to sex and age group.
| Men |
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Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer
If you receive a diagnosis of breast cancer thats spread to your colon, your doctor will likely order additional tests to see whether the cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
Once you know exactly whats going on, you and your doctor can discuss the best options for treatment. This may include one or more of the following therapies.
Stem Cell Or Bone Marrow Transplant
A stem cell transplant, sometimes called bone marrow transplant, replaces damaged blood-forming cells with healthy ones. The procedure takes place following large-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and to stop your stem cells from producing cancerous cells.
Stem cell transplants can be used for several types of cancer, including multiple myeloma and some kinds of leukemia.
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Possible Symptoms Of Advanced And Metastatic Cancer
General signs and symptoms of advanced and metastatic cancer can include:
- Loss of energy and feeling tired and/or weak: This can get so bad that you may have a hard time doing everyday tasks like bathing or getting dressed. People with advanced cancer often need help with these things.
- Weight loss
- Pain
- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
Advanced and metastatic cancers can cause many other symptoms, depending on the type of cancer and where it has spread.
Learning About Your Prognosis
Among the first things you will discuss with your healthcare team is how much information you want about your prognosis. Prognosis refers to the possible course of the disease and how much time you have.
Some people want very specific information regarding how long they might live with stage 4 colon cancer. Other people prefer not to know these details. Even if you want as much information as possible, keep in mind that predicting how long someone will live with stage 4 colon cancer is not exact.
Your healthcare provider may give you a range of time that they expect you will live. This is their best guess, which is based on your particular case and on your healthcare providers medical experience. Everyone is different.
Also, remember that situations change. Some people live much longer than expected. Others live for a shorter time. And some healthcare providers will not give predictions about how long a person will live with stage 4 colon cancer because they simply do not know.
The most important thing to know is that you can learn as much or as little as you want about your prognosis. It is up to you. Be sure to make what you want to know clear to the healthcare provider.
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How Does Chemotherapy Treat Cancer
In treating cancer, chemotherapy is the use of drugs that kill fast-growing cells. These are non-discriminatory killersthey kill any fast-growing cells in the body, not just cancer cells.
Traditional or standard chemotherapy treats cancer by interfering with cancer cells ability to grow and divide. The drugs do so by disrupting their cycle of cell division.
Cell division is when the cells make copies of their chromosomes and split into two. Many molecules, proteins, and genes work together to divide the cell into two, so there are many ways to disrupt this cycle.
In many cases, these drugs are applied to the entire body, called systemic treatment. Systemic chemotherapy can kill cancer cells that have already spread that doctors havent found yet. But it can also cause widespread side effects, affecting your digestive tract, immune system, hair, skin, and nails.
Doctors use chemotherapy to treat cancer in three ways:
- Cure cancer: Kill as much as possible, so it goes away and doesnt come back
- Control cancer: Shrink the tumors or stop them from growing and spreading
- Slow cancer: Slow the growth of cancers and reduce their symptoms
Chemotherapy drugs can be administered either through a tube that delivers liquid medicine into the blood or in pill form.
Building A Family Tree For Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
There has been a longstanding debate about when metastasis occurs, Dr. Curtis said. Studying the metastatic process in humans is challenging because researchers cant observe the process directly, she noted.
Colorectal cancer is a good model for studying the genetic changes in human tumors over time because the genetic changes that initiate colorectal cancer development, known as driver mutations, are well known, Dr. Curtis and her coauthors wrote.
To gain insights into the genetic changes involved in metastasis, the team first compared the patterns of genetic mutations between the primary tumors of 21 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and metastatic tumors in the liver or brain from the same patients.
The researchers used the mutation patterns to create a family tree showing the genetic relatedness between the primary tumor and the metastatic tumor for each patient, Dr. Curtis explained. In 17 of 21 patients , the primary tumor appeared to give rise to the metastatic tumor very early in the disease process.
In those 17 patients, the team found few driver mutations that were unique to the metastasis. Rather, the driver mutations found in the metastatic tumors were already present in the primary tumor, Dr. Curtis said. Moreover, most of these mutations were present throughout different regions of the primary tumor and in the majority of cells, suggesting that they arose early during tumor development.
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Types Of Recurring Breast Cancer
Breast cancer may recur locally, regionally, or distantly:
Local recurring breast cancer occurs when a new tumor develops in the breast that was originally affected. If the breast has been removed, the tumor may grow in the chest wall or nearby skin.
Regional recurring breast cancer happens in the same region as the original cancer. In the case of breast cancer, this may be the lymph nodes above the collarbone or in the armpit.
Distant recurring breast cancer happens when cancer cells travel to a different part of the body. This new location is far away from the original cancer. When cancer recurs distantly, its considered metastatic cancer.
Not everyone with metastatic breast cancer experiences symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can vary. Symptoms depend on the location of the metastasis and its severity.
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What Stages Have To Do With Cancer Spread
Cancers are staged according to tumor size and how far it has spread at the time of diagnosis. Stages help doctors decide which treatments are most likely to work and give a general outlook.
There are different types of staging systems and some are specific to certain types of cancer. The following are the basic stages of cancer:
- In situ. Precancerous cells have been found, but they havent spread to surrounding tissue.
- Localized. Cancerous cells havent spread beyond where they started.
- Regional. Cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs.
- Distant. Cancer has reached distant organs or tissues.
- Unknown. Theres not enough information to determine the stage.
- Stage 0 or CIS. Abnormal cells have been found but have not spread into surrounding tissue. This is also called precancer.
- Stages 1, 2, and 3. The diagnosis of cancer is confirmed. The numbers represent how large the primary tumor has grown and how far the cancer has spread.
- Stage 4. Cancer has metastasized to distant parts of the body.
Your pathology report may use the TNM staging system, which provides more detailed information as follows:
T: Size of primary tumor
- TX: primary tumor cant be measured
- T0: primary tumor cant be located
- T1, T2, T3, T4: describes the size of the primary tumor and how far it may have grown into surrounding tissue
N: Number of regional lymph nodes affected by cancer
M: Whether cancer has metastasized or not
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How Does Breast Cancer Spread
First, the cancer cells break away from tissue in the breast. They travel through your blood and lymphatic system, which is a part of your immune system. They usually appear first in the lymph nodes, small glands that filter fluid, under your arm and near your breast. Sometimes, they move to lymph nodes near the collarbone or breastbone. From there, they continue to move to other areas of your body and form tumors there.
Common Sites Of Metastasis
- Brain: 7.3%
- All less common sites: 22.4%
Invasive lobular carcinoma tends to have a significantly different pattern of metastases than ductal breast cancer. In one 2017 study, almost 70% of people with metastases from lobular carcinoma had peritoneal metastases.
For roughly a third of women , cancer spreads to multiple organs at the same time.
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Breast Metastasis From Rectal Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report With Us And Ct Findings
Bilgin Kadri Aribas*1, Aykut Onursever2, Tuba Tekin Kiziltepe1, Hale Aydin1, Sumru Cosar1, Burcu Sahin1, Haci Uzun1 and Filiz Erdil1
1Department of Radiology, A.Y. Ankara OncologyEducation and Research Hospital, 06200 Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Pathology, A.Y. Ankara OncologyEducation and Research Hospital, 06200 Ankara, Turkey
How Will I Know If My Breast Cancer Spreads
Your doctor will use specific kinds of tests to find out if your cancer has gone to other places in your body. First, your doctor will want to know how youâre feeling. They will ask you about any symptoms youâre having and your overall health. They might also look at the size of your tumor and check your lymph nodes.
After that, the doctor may give you:
Blood tests. They look for signs of anything abnormal thatâs happening in your body. For example, results from a liver function test can let your doctor know that breast cancer may have gone to your liver. High levels of some substances in your blood hint that the cancer has spread to your bones.
Imaging scans. These tests make detailed pictures of the inside of your body. They help your doctor pinpoint any cancer spread. These tests include:
- X-ray
- PET scan
- Bone scan
Biopsy. Your doctor removes a small amount of tissue from your body and looks at it under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells in it.
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Connection Between Colon And Breast Cancer
I have read some articles stating a relationship between colon and breast cancer. I wanted to know more about this because I had breast cancer 5 years ago and was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon with mets. I was told the colon cancer may have been there for close to ten years.
Hi Mary, Like you and have also had both colon and breast cancer. I found this article from the American Cancer Society: Second Cancers After Breast Cancer
Colon cancer is very slow progressing and often doesn’t cause symptoms in its early stages. How was colon cancer detected in your case?
Hi Mary, Like you and have also had both colon and breast cancer. I found this article from the American Cancer Society: Second Cancers After Breast Cancer
Colon cancer is very slow progressing and often doesn’t cause symptoms in its early stages. How was colon cancer detected in your case?
Hi Mary, Like you and have also had both colon and breast cancer. I found this article from the American Cancer Society: Second Cancers After Breast Cancer
Can Cancer Spread During Chemotherapy
While chemotherapy is one of the oldest and most successful ways of treating cancer, it doesnt always work. So, yes, cancer can spread during chemotherapy. Spreading could mean the tumor keeps growing, or that the original tumor shrinks, but cancer metastasizes, forming tumors in other areas of the body.
Advanced cancers, which have spread to other tissues and lymph nodes locally, or have metastasized to other organs, are among the hardest cancers to treat. Chemotherapy may not work to shrink or kill advanced and metastasized cancers.
In these cases, your cancer can keep growing and spreading during chemotherapy treatment. Sometimes, it may require changing the type of chemotherapy to see if it can work better instead. Other times, the goal of chemotherapy may be more palliativeto reduce symptoms from the tumors.
Some cancers spread during chemotherapy because they undergo changes that make them resistant to chemotherapy. These changes can be directly in response to the chemotherapy drugs, or they may have already existed within the tumors. Resistant cancer cells can then be the seeds of new growth of the primary tumor or of distant spread.
Chemotherapy also creates inflammation, and this results in blood vessels becoming more permeable. This can make it easier for the tumor cells to move into the blood or lymphatic vessels and spread.
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What Does Your Family Want To Know
When making your decision about details, of course, it can be important to think about those who love you and may help care for you. Many family members want complete information about how long a loved one may live after being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
Other family members may find this information very upsetting. They may not want to hear it.
Make sure your healthcare provider knows who in your family wants complete information and who does not.
Your healthcare provider can even make a note in your chart describing your goals for information sharing about your cancer treatment. This way, everyone on the healthcare team will be on the same page during appointments.
Being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer can make you feel out of control. Knowing your options regarding information sharing about your cancer, your treatment decisions, and end of life care decisions will help you move forward at a difficult time.