What Happens After You Are Diagnosed With Colon Cancer?

Receiving a colon cancer diagnosis can bring uncertainty and many questions as you begin to understand what it may mean for your health and daily life. After diagnosis, the next steps generally involve determining the extent of the cancer and using those findings to develop a treatment plan suited to your individual circumstances.

What happens next will depend on the stage of the cancer and other findings from your evaluation, which can influence whether surgery or other treatments are recommended.

How Is Colon Cancer Staged and Evaluated?

After colon cancer is diagnosed, your doctor will need to determine its stage. Staging describes how far the cancer has grown and whether it has spread beyond the colon. This information helps guide discussions about suitable treatment options.

Person receiving a medical diagnosis from a healthcare professional

Your evaluation may involve:

Imaging Tests: Computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis may be used to check whether the cancer has spread to other areas.
Blood Tests: These may include a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test. CEA is a tumour marker that may help doctors monitor some people with colon cancer, although it is not used on its own to determine the cancer stage.
Pathology Findings: A biopsy taken during diagnosis can provide information about the cancer and its characteristics. If surgery is performed, examination of the removed tumour and nearby lymph nodes can provide further information and help determine the final pathological stage.

Doctors generally assess colon cancer using the tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) system. It considers three main factors:

Tumour (T): How deeply the cancer has grown into or through the colon wall
Node (N): Whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes
Metastasis (M): Whether the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body

The TNM findings are then combined to determine an overall stage, commonly grouped from stage I to IV. In general, these stages indicate:

Stage I: The cancer has grown into the colon wall but has not spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage II: The cancer has grown through the colon wall or into nearby tissues but has not spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage III: The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.

How Do Doctors Plan Treatment After a Colon Cancer Diagnosis?

Once the extent of the cancer has been assessed, your medical team uses these findings alongside information about your overall health and the characteristics of the tumour to determine which treatment options may be appropriate for you.

Patient discussing health concerns with a doctor

What Factors Influence Your Treatment Plan?

Several factors may be considered when planning treatment, including:

The location and stage of the cancer
Your general health and any other medical conditions
Certain characteristics of the tumour identified through laboratory or molecular testing

What Treatments May Be Recommended?

Surgery is commonly considered when colon cancer can be removed. This may involve a colectomy, or bowel resection, in which the affected section of the colon is removed along with nearby lymph nodes. The extent of surgery will depend on factors such as the location and size of the tumour.

For some patients, chemotherapy may be recommended after surgery to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. Whether it is needed depends on factors including the cancer stage and pathological findings from the tissue and lymph nodes removed during surgery.

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, treatment may involve systemic therapies and, in selected cases, surgery or other approaches. Care may be planned by a multidisciplinary team based on the individual circumstances.

What Can You Expect During Recovery and Follow-up?

After surgery, the focus shifts to recovery, while follow-up care helps monitor your health over time. Your healthcare team will guide you through the recovery period and recommend a follow-up schedule based on your treatment and cancer stage.

What Can You Expect After Colon Cancer Surgery?

Recovery after colon cancer surgery varies depending on factors such as the type and extent of surgery performed and your overall health. In the days following surgery, you may gradually return to eating and drinking, begin moving around and increase your activity as you recover.

As you return to everyday activities, it is important to watch for symptoms that may require medical attention, such as persistent fever, worsening abdominal pain, increasing redness or discharge from the surgical wound, or persistent vomiting.

What Does Follow-up Care Involve?

Follow-up care allows your healthcare team to monitor your recovery and health after treatment. How often you need appointments and which tests are recommended will depend on factors such as the stage of the cancer and the treatment you received.

Follow-up may include:

Medical Reviews: To discuss your recovery, general health and any new or persistent symptoms
Blood Tests: These may include carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) testing when appropriate
Imaging Tests: Scans may be recommended at certain intervals based on your individual circumstances
Colonoscopy: This may be performed to examine the colon and check for new polyps or other changes

Your follow-up schedule may change over time based on your progress and individual needs. Speak with your healthcare team if you develop new symptoms or have concerns between follow-up appointments.

Discuss Your Colon Cancer Care at The Surgeons

After a colon cancer diagnosis, reviewing your diagnosis and staging information with a healthcare professional can help you understand how these findings may shape your treatment plan, including whether surgery may be appropriate and what it could involve.

At The Surgeons, you can review your diagnosis and relevant investigations with Dr Chew Min Hoe, a colorectal surgeon with more than 25 years of experience in colonoscopy and colorectal surgery, and discuss whether surgery may form part of your treatment. Book an appointment with us to discuss your colon cancer diagnosis and the treatment options that may be appropriate for you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Colon Cancer Care

Most colon cancers are not directly inherited. However, certain inherited genetic conditions, such as Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), can increase a person's risk. A doctor may recommend genetic counselling or testing based on factors such as your age at diagnosis and family history.

Yes. Some patients choose to seek a second medical opinion to better understand their diagnosis or available treatment approaches. Bringing relevant pathology reports, imaging results and other medical records can help the reviewing doctor assess the case.

A colon cancer diagnosis does not necessarily mean you need to change your diet immediately. Your dietary needs may change depending on your treatment, particularly before or after bowel surgery. Check with your healthcare team about whether specific dietary adjustments are needed or whether input from a dietitian may be helpful.

Meet Our Doctor

Dr Chew Min HoeSenior ConsultantGeneral & Colorectal SurgeryMBBS (Singapore), MRCS (Edinburgh), MMed (Surgery), FRCS (Edinburgh)

Dr Chew Min Hoe is a colorectal surgeon with more than 25 years of experience in colonoscopy and colorectal surgery. His background includes senior surgical leadership roles in Singapore’s public healthcare sector, a fellowship at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.

More About Dr Chew

What Happens After a Colon Cancer Diagnosis?