Colorectal Cancer: Post Treatment 0 - 6 Months: Medical Care Stages II,III,IV

If you completed treatment and there are still signs of colorectal cancer, don’t give up.

The higher the number of the stage at diagnosis, the more likely you will need more than one treatment to get rid of cancer.

If you underwent chemotherapy, there may be other drugs available and other combinations of drugs. You can also try cutting edge treatments available through Clinical Trials. To learn about clinical trials, click here. 

If the cancer cannot be eliminated completely, you can still live for years – enough time for another treatment to come along from the world’s constantly improving medical system. To learn more about what is commonly referred to as advanced cancer, click here. 

Even if you had a second opinion before, this is a good time to get a second opinion from the best. (Most health insurance pays for second and even third and fourth opinions).

• Consider getting an opinion from a NCI certified comprehensive cancer center. NCI centers use a multi-disciplinary approach in which a team of doctors with different backgrounds review your case. If travel is difficult, you may be able to send copies of your medical records. Since pathology reports may contain errors, you will need slides of your cancer which are easy to obtain. To locate a NCI comprehensive cancer center, click here . 
• Free transportation may be available. Click here.
• The hospital or the American Cancer Society may have free lodging available. To contact the American Cancer Society, call 800.ACS.2345

Do your best to lead a cancer prevention lifestyle including eating well, exercising and getting appropriate rest. For more information about a cancer prevention lifestyle, click here. Also take the other steps described in the summary of this document to maximize your body’s fighting ability.

If you have tried several types of treatment and the cancer has not been cured

This is likely to be the most difficult time in your battle with cancer.

It is time to weigh the possible benefits of another treatment against the downsides.

Whether it is time to shift the focus to care which is more concerned with your quality of life than curing the cancer is up to you. Some people insist on a treatment even if there is only something like a 1 in 100 chance that it will work. . To learn more about it, click here. 

No matter what you decide: never, never give up hope. Even if the hope if no longer about a cure, there is the hope of being with the people you love and whatever immediate goals you have.

NOTE: If your doctor gives you a short life expectancy, keep in mind that unless you are in the last week or so of life, it is only an estimate based on statistics. Statistics are about what happens to large numbers of people based on what has happened – not what will happen with current and new medical technology – much less what will happen to any particular individual.  To learn more about statistics, click here. 

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