Due to the advancement of medical technology and new methods of treatment, the survival rate of colon cancer have increased considerably. As of 2009, around 30 % of the people suffering from colon cancer live for atleast five more years after the disease is diagnosed. The chances of surviving five years after diagnosing the disease used to be just 8% twenty years ago.
Early detection of colon cancer plays an important part in determining the survival chances. So detecting the symptoms of the disease is very important to increase the patients’ rates of survival. There are a variety of symptoms such as abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, tiredness, sudden weight loss and bloody stool among others. As soon as a person experiences any of the symptoms and has a vague suspicion that he might have developed the disease, he should consult the doctor.
There are some unexpected factors in colon cancer survivability. Men have a 44% chance of developing the disease at some point in their life as compared to women whose chances are 37%. In general, a person irrespective of gender has a 6% chance of developing colon cancer during his/her lifetime.
Other statistics like a personal history of cancer, or a history of the disease in the family can also lead to colon cancer. Following the procedures that reduce the chances of contracting cancer help in negating the chances of developing colon cancer.
It must be understood that surviving colon cancer does not mean you are cured or that when the treatment is finally complete, you have been completely relieved of the illness. It means that a certain number of people who develop the disease, live for a specific period of time after it is diagnosed.
If colon cancer is detected in its initial stages, the chances of survival are 93%. If it is the second stage, the chances get reduced to 78%. In the tertiary stage, it becomes 64% and there is only an 8-10% survival chance if colon cancer is detected in the final stages.
The location of the colon in the rectum does not make much of a difference as the survival rate is between 59-66% depending on the various places the colon can be located. Colon cancer survival rates keep improving as the years pass, because of advanced screening, better medicines and a host of other medical solutions.
