Colon cancer development time

[HarvardStudent]

I was wondering how long it takes for a colon cancer to develop? My gastroenterologist said 5 years typically is the shortest, and that in most cases the time is 10 years from a tiny 1 mm polyp to full invasive cancer. Of course, there are people on both ends. I was just wondering though in young people who are diagnosed is development time shorter? For instance if you were diagnosed at 23, does this mean the polyp started growing at 13-15?? Or more likely 18? Thanks, and maybe a GI person could answer this.

[missjv]

hi,
well i don't think anyone can say for sure. i had a 1 1/2 mm polyp no vascular invasion, did not invade colon wall and ended up with stage 4 cancer. my polyp obviously was not there for 10 years or it would have been bigger i guess?? anything can happen so if you have any kind of symptoms go get checked. i had no symptoms and ended up stage 4.


missjv

[HarvardStudent]

oh, wow. How old were you when you were diagnosed? You said you initially had a 1 mm polyp which then transformed into Stage IV. How long did that take? In other words, I suspect they found the 1 mm polyp and removed it and then later you had a test done and found the Stage IV. Did they do a CT to find liver mets to know it was Stage IV? Was the 1 mm polyp an adenomatous polyp?

[missjv]

HI,
I WAS DIAGNOSED JUNE 2006 LIVER METS WERE FOUND 2 WEEKS AFTER I HAD POLYP REMOVED. I WAS AT FIRST TOLD POLYP WAS CANCEROUS BUT PATHOLGY REPORTS CLAIMED COLON WALL WAS NOT INVADED AND NO VASCULAR INVASION SO TECHNICALLY CANCER WAS REMOVED BY POLYPECTOMY AND I WAS FINE. I KNOW MY GASTRO PERSONALLY AND I DON'T LIKE THE WORD CANCER SO SHE HAD A CEA TEST DONE ON ME WHICH CAME BACK AS 2 WHICH IS NORMAL. I STILL WAS UNEASY SO WE DID A CAT SCAN AND THERE ON MY RIGHT LOBE OF LIVER WERE 3 LITTLE METS SO NOW STAGE 4. I AM GLAD CAT SCAN WAS DONE OR I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN ABOUT MY LIVER UNTIL I STARTED SHOWING SYMPTOMS DOWN THE ROAD AND THEN I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A REAL PICKLE. THE WEIRD THING WAS I HAD NO SYMPTOMS AND DID THE COLONOSCOPY BECAUSE I WAS SOON TO BE 40 AND I HAD AN UNCLE DIE OF COLON CANCER. I CANCELED 4 APPTS BETWEEN FEB 06 AND MAY 06. DOCS TOLD ME IF I DID COLONOSCOPY BACK THEN AND HAD A SCAN THOSE METS WERE SO SMALL THEY MAY NOT HAVE SHOWN ON SCANS AND AGAIN I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN I HAD IT ON MY LIVER AND SINCE MY CEA WAS ALSO NORMAL NO ONE WOULD HAVE GUESSED. SO I SEE THAT AS A SIGN THAT I HAVE A GUARDIAN ANGEL LOOKING OUT FOR ME I HAVE SINCE HAD SURGERY TO REMOVE LIVER LESIONS AND HAVE 7 MORE CHEMOS TO GO AS OF NOW I AM SHOWING NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE AND IM FEELING REALLY GOOD EXCEPT TIRED ON MY CHEMO DAYS EVERYOTHER WEEK. WELL LIKE I SAID BEFORE IF YOU SUSPECT ANYTHING OR HAVE ANY KIND OF SYMPTOMS PLEASE GO GET CHECKED YOUNG PEOPLE GET THIS DISEASE IT IS NOT JUST AN OLD FART CANCER LIKE I USED TO THINK OF IT.


MISSJV

[lamerex4]

I am a 53 yr old female. Had a normal colonoscopy 4/03.
Started having blood IN stools 2/06. Dr kept referring back to normal colonoscopy < 2 yrs ago.
Saw a GI surgeon 09/06. Had 3 hemorrhoids banded. Told that would take care of the bleeding.
Bleeding continued. Back to GI surgeon 10/06. "Give it more healing time. May have to reband one of the hemorrhoids."
Finally in 01/07 took the GI surgeon a digital picture of my stool. That got her attention!
Colonoscopy 1/18/07 found large recto-sigmoid adenocarcinoma which was removed 2/14/07 and found to be early Stage 1.
I am an RN. I knew the blood I was seeing IN the stool was not hemorrhoidal. Am glad I was persistent.

[missjv]

HI,
WELL MINE WAS CLASSIFIED AS STAGE 0 OR 1, I AM STAGE 4. READ MY POSTING. I KNOW YOUR A NURSE SO YOU PROBABLY KNOW THIS BUT I WOULD DO A CAT SCAN JUST IN CASE. I HAD SEVERAL PATHOLOGY OPINIONS ON MY POLYP AND THEY ALL CAME TO THE CONCLUSION MY POLYP DID NOT INVADE COLON WALL OR LYMPHNODES I WAS TOLD IM FINE COME BACK FOR REPEAT COLONOSCOPY. IM GLAD I DID THE CAT SCAN CAUSE IT HAD ALREADY SPREAD. BY PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS I WAS AT VERY LOW RISK FOR SPREAD 4% CHANCE WELL HERE I AM RECOVERING FROM LIVER RESECTION AND UNDERGOING 12 TREATMENTS OF CLEAN UP CHEMO I HAVE 7 MORE CHEMOS TO GO AND I AM CURRENTLY DISEASE FREE I WAS LUCKY MY SPOTS ON LIVER WERE VERY SMALL AND RESECTABLE AND I HAD NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER OUTSIDE THE LIVER AND I HAVE A GOOD PROGNOSIS.

MISSJV

[lamerex4]

Prior to my surgery I had a CT scan of the chest and the abdomen which were negative for mets to the lung/liver. I also had a CEA of 1.5.
I am feeling very humbled and very blessed.

[Ron50]

Hi Harvard Student,
I was dx in 98 with st3 into 6 lymph nodes. They don't know how long I had it. I had follow up scopes every 12 mos and on average they remove polyps every second scope. I am now out to two yearly scopes ,the last just before Christmas. They removed two small 2mm polyps and one already had precancerous changes. Obviously there is NO safe period to leave polyps vigilance is our only option,Ron.

[missjv]

HI,
WELL IM GLAD YOU HAD NOT METS AT YOUR PRESURGICAL SCAN THAT IS GREAT NEWS!


MISSJV

[Carolyn JB]

I am 36 years old with stage IV, diagnosed Jan.10th, no family history, had some bleeding back in July but went away with better nutrition habits. Thankfully my new GP pushed for a colonoscopy and they found a tumor in the rectum that was large and it had started to spread beyond the wall. It was in the lymph nodes and defintiely a tumor in the liver, I have some nodules in the lungs but they did not show up as cancerous on the PET/Ct scan so we are watching them as well. Started chemo yesterday! My one dr. said it could have been gorwing about 5 years - just a guess

Carolyn

[Guest]

hey, thanks for all the responses. anyone else know how long their colon cancer was growing?

also, it seems most people here have had blood as a sign of problems, yet I have read left sided colon cancers which are often discovered slightly earlier cause symptoms of obstruction rather than bleeding. would be interested to hear others stories in terms of where their cancer was located (right or left colon).

also, does anyone know why liver mets comes before lung mets? it seems rare to have lung w/o liver involvement, but very common to have liver w/o lung.

[nodo]

I was diagnosed in February 2004 at the age of 36. My tumor had grown through the colon wall and there was lymph node involvement. No mets to liver or lungs, so I was a stage IIIC. My surgeon told me that based on the size of the tumor, it was definitely there at least 5 years. My GI said it was more likely 8 to 10 years. My tumor was located in the transverse colon. I did not see bleeding, although it was there on the testing. I was diagnosed because my tumor fully obstructed my colon and that was a bit painful, to say the least. Everybody is different, though, so it is hard to say exactly how long it takes to develop.

[missjv]

hi,
i think the liver is first sign of spread of colon cancer because of the hepatic artery and drainage. the lung comes next because it is so close to the liver. i could be wrong but thats how i understand it works.

missjv

[maria]

I'm also Stage IV - no mets to liver or lungs and 4/11 lymph nodes involved. My cancer broke through the colon wall and dripped into the peritoneum forming another tumor that was removed during surgery. My surgeon told me the cancer had been growing for 5-10 years with virtually no symptoms. I was initially admitted for divaticulitis (a massive infection was spotted during a CT for stomach ache). I also feel blessed about the liver/lung involvement however I finished chemo in December and had a PET last month - my lymph nodes in my lungs were a bit swollen but in an area that was uncommon to cancer per my oncologist - more likely of an upper respiratory infection. I have to repeat the PET in 2 months and continue follow up PET every 4 months- my oncogist says its not if it comes back its when it comes back and we will be ready -

[Guest]

Yes, it sounds as if many found this incidentally through abdominal CT. Can abdominal CT see large tumors in the colon with rectal contrast? I have heard some people used CT mostly for staging though.

Maria, why Stage IV if only lymph node involvement?