Content Overview 
- Summary
- If These Symptoms Appear, Contact Your Doctor
- Vitamins and Supplements To Speak With Your Doctor About Taking
- Follow Up Visits and Tests For Colon and Rectal Cancer
- Where Are You Now? What Doctors Say And What They Mean
- What To Expect And What To Do After Radiation Treatment
- What To Expect And Do After Surgery For Colorectal Cancer
- What To Expect And What To Do After Chemotherapy
- Ostomies
- If Treatment Didn't Work
Colorectal Cancer: Post Treatment 0 - 6 Months: Medical Care Stages II,III,IV
Where Are You Now? What Doctors Say And What They Mean
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“You’re cured” or “You’re in complete remission”or you are NED (no evidence of disease)
All of these expressions mean your cancer is undetectable. Although it may be completely gone, there is still a chance that it may return or recur. As stated by Dr. Mark Pochapin, the noted colorectal specialist:
“Cure" is a tough word when we're talking about cancer. No one knows if cancer is ever really cured. But it is sometimes pushed back so far it never grows again. We call that "remission" or "long term survival." Your chances of surviving for a long time depend on the stage of your cancer and how successful the treatments are. Obviously, the lower the stage and the less the cancer has grown, the better the odds. Still, no one can confidently predict any of those things. Your best bet is to fight as hard as you can and live every minute to the fullest.
You have had a partial response (please make the bullet points in the rest of this section single space)
- The tumor(s) responded to treatment. The tumor is either smaller or stopped growing. The tumor is not eliminated completely.
- Speak with your doctor and other specialists to find out if there are other r treatments you should be on..
- At the least, get a cancer follow-up plan from your doctor. (For information about follow-up plans, see the document in To Learn More).
“Your cancer is stable” or you have stable disease ”:
- The tumor did not decrease, but is no longer growing either.
- Speak with your doctor and other specialists to find out if there is another treatment you should be taking. Ask about cutting edge treatments that are only available through a clinical trial. At the least, get a cancer follow-up plan from your doctor. (For information about clinical trials and follow-up plans, see the documents in To Learn More).
“Your tumor is still growing”:
- The treatment did not stop tumor growth.
- Speak with your doctor and other specialists to find out if there is another treatment you should be taking – including cutting edge treatments available through clinical trials. At the least, get a cancer follow-up plan from your doctor. (For information about clinical trials and follow-up plans, see the documents in To Learn More).
“The cancer has metastasized”
During treatment, your doctor may learn that your cancer has spread beyond the initial site. Speak with your doctor and other specialists to find out if there is another treatment you should be on – including cutting edge treatments available through clinical trials. For information about clinical trials, how to find them and how to assess them, see the document in To Learn More. To be matched with a clinical trial for colorectal cancer, click here. 
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