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How long was the time between diagnosis to surgery for you?
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 11, 2023 | Replies (27)Comment receiving replies
Why do some people get surgery before chemo, and some, many months after? Is there an answer to this other than “that’s what the doctor thinks is best?” Are there any rules that doctors follow when coming up with their approach that are evidence based? My cousin was diagnosed a few weeks ago and they want to do chemo pills for 3 months and radiation and then I believe 6 months later, do surgery. The tumor is ~5 centimeters (I think) and they say it’s stage 2. It just doesn’t make sense to me to wait to take it out, but hey, I’m not a doctor. Thanks.
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@nikodean, there are guidelines that doctors follow to help with treatment decision-making. Chemo before surgery is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Chemo after surgery is adjuvant chemotherapy.
This article explains some of the reasons one may be used over the other for cancer like colon cancer, rectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and others.
- What's the difference: Adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2019/01/whats-the-difference-adjuvant-and-neoadjuvant-therapies
Many stage 2 colon cancers have grown through the wall of the colon, and maybe into nearby tissue, but they have not spread to the lymph nodes. It is possible that they wish to shrink your cousin's tumor with chemo and radiation to make sure they can extract the tumor cleanly. This is a great question to ask the cancer team.
Has your cousin started treatment yet?