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It's hard to say what will happen to you after you're diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer. No matter how many statistics you see on this cancer, keep in mind that no one can say for sure what will happen to you. You are not a statistic, and no two people respond to treatment or to cancer in exactly the same way. Many people do better than their doctors expect they will.

However, we know from research that most people with colon or rectal cancer want to learn the facts about their disease. They want their doctor to tell them whether the cancer can be cured and whether it will come back.¹ But this is not the case for everybody. If you don't want to read about statistics on colon and rectal cancer, then skip this section.

We know that, in general, the outlook for your disease depends mainly on:

• The stage of your cancer (whether it has spread)
• Whether any of your lymph nodes are involved and where these nodes are
• What the tumor looks like under a microscope. (The more your tumor cells look like normal cells, the better your outlook may be.)

In general, the earlier your cancer is diagnosed, the better your outlook. The table below shows the percentage of people diagnosed at each stage of colon and rectal cancer who live for at least five years after treatment.²

Doctors talk about five-year survival rates for cancer. They do this because research studies usually follow people for five years after they start treatment. If you are well after five years, you're probably cured. But there is a small chance your cancer will come back after five years.

You may not want to get into this much detail, either because it is complicated or because you are scared about finding out too much about your condition. Please remember that this information is not specifically about you. No one can predict exactly what will happen to you. Also, how long people with colon and rectal cancer live is increasing all the time.

Here are some general ideas about how long people live with different stages of colon or rectal cancer. To find out more about staging, see What stage is your cancer?

The research also tells us the following.^{2 3 4 5 6}

• If your colon or rectal cancer is going to come back, it will probably do so within two years of surgery. If your cancer doesn't come back within five years, you are probably cured.
• About 1 in 8 people who have rectal cancer will need to have a colostomy.⁷ (This is when part of the colon is brought out through the belly to allow waste to be collected in a bag.) Usually, it's people with cancer in their rectum rather than their colon who might need a colostomy. For more information, see Living with a colostomy.
• Colon and rectal cancer spreads most often to the liver. Surgeons today are more prepared to remove larger tumors in the liver than they used to be.
• If your cancer is caught by screening, you have a better outlook because the cancer is probably less advanced.
• Cancer that completely blocks the colon has a worse outlook than cancer that does not block the colon. Only about 3 out of 10 people whose cancer completely blocks the colon or has burst through the colon wall live for five years after surgery. Twice as many people (6 out of 10) can expect to live for five years after surgery if their cancer does not block the colon or has not burst through the colon wall.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.