Fact 7: Treatment Modalities
Colorectal cancer, much like other cancers, isn’t monolithic in its nature. Its stage, location, and individual patient factors dictate the treatment trajectory. Fortunately, medical advancements have equipped us with a diverse array of treatment modalities tailored to address the multifaceted nature of this disease.
Surgery stands as the cornerstone of colorectal cancer treatments, especially for early-stage tumors. By surgically excising the tumor, often along with surrounding healthy tissue, the cancer’s progression can be halted. For tumors in the rectum, radiation therapy might precede surgery to shrink the tumor, making surgical removal more feasible.
For more advanced cases, or when the cancer has metastasized to distant organs, chemotherapy emerges as the go-to. Administered either orally or intravenously, these drugs target rapidly dividing cancer cells. Another avenue is targeted therapy, which, unlike the broad-spectrum approach of chemotherapy, zeroes in on specific molecular targets associated with the cancer cells. (7)
