Colon cancer staging is the process health professionals use to determine where the cancer went when no one was looking. Did it stay in the colon or work its way into the lymph nodes or other parts of the body?
Determining the colon cancer stage is an important part of choosing an appropriate treatment. If you've been diagnosed with colon cancer, there are many tools your doctor can use to determine the stage.
CT Scan
A CT scan (pronounced "cat scan") is a specialized type of x-ray that shows the doctor what a slice of you looks like. This is possible because the CT scan rotates around you while taking the x-ray. CT scans are great for providing detailed pictures of bones. For more information about CT scans, please watch About's video: What is a CT Scan?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also shows the doctor what a slice of you looks like. But, it uses radio waves and magnets to do it. MRIs are great at taking pictures of soft tissue, like the colon. For more information about MRIs, please watch About's video: What is an MRI?
Lymph Node Biopsy
Lymph nodes are the things that work overtime when you have an infection. They can also act as an access road for cancer that's looking to spread. Checking the lymph nodes for cancer cells gives your doctor an idea of how successful the cancer has been in digging out of your colon and traveling to other parts of your body.
CEA Assay
Your doctor may order something called a CEA Assay. (Assay is just a fancy word for analysis.) This test is useful because certain levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the blood can be a sign that colon cancer is present.
Sources:
Colon Cancer (PDQ): Treatment: Stages of Colon Cancer. National Cancer Institute. Accessed 18 Jun. 2006 [http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/colon/Patient/page2].
The Difference Between MRI and CT (CAT Scans). The Listen-Up Web. Accessed 18 Jun. 2006 [http://www.listen-up.org/med/ct_mri.htm].
