To chemo or not to chemo- that is the question.

Following the surgery to remove the tumor, my cancer was reclassified as Stage IIA (T3N0MX) due to 35 of 35 removed colon related lymph nodes testing negative for carcinoma and no evidence of metastasis to other organs. (Yea!)

The chances of a stage II colon cancer survivor remaining cancer free for 5 years without chemotherapy is in the 75-85% range, depending on the source of the information. In talking to an oncologist when I was in the hospital, and in doing my own research on the Internet, it appears that the benefits, if any, of post-surgical chemotherapy might increase those chances by 3-5%. Some studies say that there is no statistically significant increased prognosis for Stage II people who opt for chemo, so it is not recommended for patients who are not at a high risk of recurrence. Other studies seem to suggest that there might be a benefit for some patients, so it should remain an option. I'm still undecided, but am leaning away from chemo at the moment. Here are some websites that discuss the issue of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage 2 colon cancer.

http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=5298&nbr=3621#s23
http://tinyurl.com/32nz69
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/types/article.cfm?c=5&s=11&ss=81&id=7336
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/16/3408

If you try and access the following two Medscape & eMediciene articles directly, you will probably encounter a screen prompting you to complete a free registration to access the information.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/487981
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/508765_print

You should be able to access the articles by doing a Google search using the following search terms and then clicking on the resulting link.
medscape colon cancer chemo 487981
medscape colon cancer chemo 508765

Could chemo make things worse?
http://ezinearticles.com/?Stage-Two-Colorectal-Cancer-Turned-Terminal-After-Chemotherapy&id=556021

Here's an interesting chemo calculator. The answers to the questions are: none, T3, low, 50-59. http://mayoclinic.com/calcs/colon/index-ccacalc.cfm

Today I learned that 80% of colon cancer cases occur with people without a family history of the disease. Quoting an article, "A recognised hereditary link for colon cancer exists between 1st degree natural family members of people who have colon cancer. If there's a family history of colon cancer, the chance of getting it is 3 times greater than the risk for the population as a whole. Do not be complacent however. Just 20% of colorectal cancer occurs amongst persons who have family history of this disease. The majority of colon cancers, four out of five in fact, affect those without familial association to the disease."