Colon Cancer is a nasty deadly disease and the colon cancer survival rate may just be as nasty once you get to know about them. Depending on the stage where you have been diagnosed, your colon cancer survival rate may either be acceptable or downright shocking. If it's mind-blowing, it may be better to have a heart attack, for when the cancer spreads and metastasizes; the following symptoms may be the worst bodily pain you'll ever experience.

By definition, your colon cancer survival rate is usually based on a five-year period and is mainly determined by the stage of your cancer. From worldwide statistics, your chances of having a long-term prognosis is more likely if the cancer has been detected at the earliest stage possible which is stage zero or the asymptomatic stage. Here comes the despicable thing-like most cancers, colon cancer is a silent killer. You'll never know you have it until it's around its second stage (from which you begin experiencing mild inconvenience upon defecating, digestion, etc). At this time, the treatment plan will no longer be able to completely defeat the cancer and bring you back to your normal life. However, it can impede the fast proliferation of the cancer cells, therefore increasing your colon cancer survival rate to more years than without the treatment.

If the cancer has been detected at the early stage (around 1-2), the chances of surviving until 5 years or more is more likely, especially if the proper treatment regimen is done to you. At this stage, surgery, chemo, and major lifestyle changes must be done and made to prolong your prognosis.

Colonoscopy is very much advisable for stages 1-3, when the cancer has not yet reached the other vital organs of the body and is only confined to your colonic tract. Stage 4 is when the cancer has metastasize to other parts of the body outside the colon-in most cases, the cancer is likely to spread towards your liver first. This is because of the anatomical proximity of the liver to the colon. Once the other parts are affected, your colon cancer survival rate may drastically drop to 20-30 percent even with surgery and other treatments. Thus, you can just imagine how relevant it is to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Generally, over the past few years, cancer research have grown and improved quite substantially compared to the old days. The average survival rate of cancers is now a bit higher than before due to more innovative treatment programs and better knowledge of cancers.

The latest updates from American Cancer Society this year shows that in a five-year colon cancer survival rate:

• Stage 1 has about 74%
• Stage 2 has about 37% to 67%
• Stage 3 has about 28% to 73%
• Stage 4 has about 6%

Note: You may see that stage 3 has much higher survival rate than stage 2. The American Cancer Society states that they have not known the reason behind this yet but this is a factual outcome of the statistical analysis.

By Mert Ozge

The pancreas is a spongy, tube-shaped organ about 6 inches long. The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen. It is connected to the duodenum, the upper end of the small intestine. The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the body.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious of cancers. It develops when cancerous cells form in the tissues of your pancreas — a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate the metabolism of carbohydrates.

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas. Each year about 33,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with this condition, and more than 60,000 in Europe. Depending on the extent of the tumor at the time of diagnosis, the prognosis is generally regarded as poor, with few victims still alive five years after diagnosis, and complete remission still extremely rare.

Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer
Loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss. Unintended weight loss is a common sign of pancreatic cancer. Weight loss occurs in most types of cancer because cancerous (malignant) cells deprive healthy cells of nutrients, and this is especially true in pancreatic cancer.

As the cancer grows and spreads, pain often develops in the upper abdomen and sometimes spreads to the back. Cancer of the pancreas can also cause nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, and weakness.

Jaundice is caused by a buildup of bilirubin (a substance produced in the liver) that causes a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Jaundice may also cause brown urine and clay-colored stools. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are generally vague and can easily be attributed to other less serious and more common conditions. This lack of specific symptoms explains the high number of people who have a more advanced stage of disease when pancreatic cancer is discovered.

Treatment for Pancreatic cancer
Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. You may receive radiation treatments before or after cancer surgery, often in combination with chemotherapy. Or, your doctor may recommend a combination of radiation and chemotherapy treatments when your cancer can't be treated surgically.

Surgery may be done to remove all or part of the pancreas. Sometimes it is necessary to remove a portion of the stomach, duodenum, and other nearby tissues. This operation is called a Whipple procedure. In cases where the cancer in the pancreas cannot be removed, the surgeon may be able to create a bypass around the common bile duct or the duodenum if either is blocked.

Endoscopic stent placement: A stent (flexible tube) is placed in the bile duct to drain the bile into the small intestine or outside the body as needed. This is done when the tumor is blocking the bile duct and there is a build up of bile to prevent further build up.

Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells but also damage some normal cells. Short-term side effects might include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, hair loss, and mouth sores. Because chemotherapy can damage the bone marrow, where new blood cells are made, blood cell counts might become low.

Pancreatic Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Pancreatic cancer: Malignancy of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a "silent" disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does not cause symptoms. If the tumor blocks the common bile duct and bile cannot pass into the digestive system, the skin and whites of the eyes may become yellow (jaundiced), and the urine darker as a result of accumulated bile pigment called bilirubin.

Pancreatic Cancer Causes
The exact as to what damages DNA in the vast majority of cases of pancreatic cancer is not clear. In other words the exact pancreatic cancer causes are not clear. But it is known that a small percentage of people develop the disease as a result of a genetic predisposition. These people who have a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, with pancreatic cancer have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer themselves.

As age increases the probability of pancreatic cancer also increases. The incidence of Pancreatic Cancer is relatively low in individuals up to age 50, after which it increases significantly. The age group 65 - 79 has the highest incidence of Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms
In many cases, pancreatic cancer symptoms do not occur until the advanced stages. When pancreatic cancer symptoms do occur, they are often ignored because they are so vague and nonspecific. The first pancreatic cancer symptoms are usually pain in the abdomen and weight loss. Additional pancreatic cancer symptoms to look for include jaundice, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, chills, and muscle spasms.

Many of these pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of a less serious ailment. However, only a doctor can accurately diagnosis whether or not your pancreatic cancer symptoms are the result of cancer.

Pain
Pancreatic cancer can cause pain and discomfort in your upper abdomen, which sometimes spreads to your back. The pain pancreatic cancer causes is often worse when you are lying down or eating. This type of pain tends to affect people whose tumour has formed in either the body or tail of the pancreas.

Pancreatic Cancer Treatment:
This cancer is difficult to diagnose because there are no symptoms in the early stages and because , when symptoms appear, they match other diseases. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may be used. If the cancer has not spread beyond the pancreas, therapy can be successful, but, as stated earlier, it's very unlikely to find pancreatic cancer in the early stages. Obstruction of bile flow may be temporarily relieved by placement of a tube (stent) in the lower portion of the duct that drains bile from the liver and gallbladder. In most cases, however, the tumor eventually obstructs the duct above and below the stent. An alternative treatment method is the surgical creation of a channel that bypasses the obstruction. For example, an obstruction of the small intestine can be bypassed by a channel that connects the stomach with a portion of the small intestine that is beyond the obstruction.