The symptoms of colon cancer, including colorectal cancer, center on changes in bowel habits. Once diagnosed, colon cancer is most frequently staged using the TNM system.
Symptoms
Symptoms include diarrhea or constipation, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, nausea or vomiting, narrower stools than usual, feelings of bloating, gas, cramps or unusual fullness, or that the bowel is not emptying completely. Early stages do not always cause pain, so it is important not to wait for pain before seeing a doctor.
TNM Staging
Colon cancers are usually staged using the TNM system. This system uses medical tests to grade three aspects of the cancer: tumor (T), lymph nodes (N) and metastasis (M), which then determine the stage. Each stage can have multiple substages, depending on the cancer's characteristics.
Stages 0 and I
Stage 0 colorectal cancers, also called in situ, are only in the innermost colon lining. Stage I cancers have grown into the colon's inner wall, but have not spread elsewhere.
Stage II
Stage II cancers invade more deeply into the colon wall or even through it. The cancer may have spread to nearby organs, but it has not invaded distant organs or lymph nodes.
Stage III
Stage III colon cancers may have varying degrees of cancer spread within the colon wall and other organs, but at this stage the cancer is present in the lymph nodes. Distant organs are not affected.
Stage IV
Stage IV colon cancers are distinguished by spread of the cancer to distant organs, with or without lymph node involvement and regardless of the original cancer's spread within the colon wall.
Tags: colon wall, lymph nodes, Stage Stage, cancer spread, cancer spread within