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Colon cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the United States. The survival rates are based on groups of people rather than individual patients; therefore they shouldn’t be used to predict whether or not a specific patient is going to survive. The rates reflect the percentage of patients who are still alive five years after their initial diagnosis. Since no two patients are exactly alike, they all respond to various treatments differently. Fortunately, the colon cancer survival rate is increasing overall, due to improved screening and technology.
Factors Influencing Survival Rates
There are a variety of factors that influence the survival rates of colon cancer patients. These factors include age, general health, ethnicity, gender, and the stage of the disease. The stages are rated from 0-4, with 0 being the earliest stage and 4 being the most advanced stage of colon cancer. The earlier stages are the easiest to treat. In stages 0 and 1 colon cancer, the disease is still either restricted to its starting location, which is the epithelial tissue, or beginning to spread into nearby organs. The survival rate is more than 90% for each stage after five years of treatment. In stage 3, the colon cancer has spread through muscle walls and the survival rate is anywhere from 44% to 83%, depending on how severely the cancer is spreading. If the cancer is found in more than three lymph nodes, the survival rate is decreased to below 50%. Only 10-15% of stage 4 colon cancer patients are still alive after five years. At this level, the cancer has spread to other organs, such as the liver and lungs.
Other Factors
Location is a huge factor in colon cancer survival rate. The survival rate in the United States is the highest in the world, due to advancements in technology and medicine. Race and gender are also factors. The survival rate of white males is 66%, which is the highest, followed by white females 64.2%), black males (55.6%), and black females (53.9%). The location of the tumor plays a role in the survival rate as well. Those with descending colon cancer have the highest survival rate (66%), and those with rectal or right colon cancer have the lowest rate of survival (59%).
Exercise
According to studies, the colon cancer survival rate appears to increase with physical activity. This especially seems to be the case with female patients. The testing results show that, during the research, women who increased their level of exercise after being diagnosed had a 50% higher rate of survival than that of women whose activity levels stayed the same. Increased exercising also reduces the risk of colon cancer coming back for those who have been treated.
In conclusion, the colon cancer survival rate isn’t set in stone. An individual patient can increase his or her chances of survival significantly by getting the best treatment possible and exercising more. Since patients all come from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles, the survival rate for each individual could be higher or lower than the average.
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