The treatment for colon cancer is normally based on the stage of cancer and various other factors that are considered important.

The first and main stage and treatment of colon cancer mostly include a course of medication and surgery. You may also be recommended to take up an adjuvant treatment which would last for 6 months. The adjuvant treatment is also called Chemotherapy.

Treatment for Stage 0 colon cancer
Stage 0 of colon cancer is the beginning stage of colon cancer. Since the cancer growth has not reached the inner lining of the colon, the most often treatment advised by the doctors would be surgery. In many cases this is done by removing the area with cancer through a local excision (colonoscope) or by taking out the polyps. Removing cancerous parts in the colon (partial colectomy) may be essential if the cancer growth is bigger to be eliminated through local excision.

Treatment for Stage I colon cancer
You are at Stage I of colon cancer if cancer has gone deeper into the layers of the colon wall, but not that deep to have spread outside the gland or over the nearby lymph nodes.

If all the polyps are removed completely during the process of colonoscopy, with zero cancer cells left behind the first layers, no more treatment may be needed further. If there are some cancer cells left on the edges of the polyps or the cancer cells on polyps are of high grade several more surgery will be performed if the polyps could not be removed completely or if only some pieces of it were removed.

Treatment for Stage II colon cancer
The treatment for Stage II colon cancer includes a combination of both surgery and chemotherapy. At this stage, the cancerous cells multiply and grow through the wall of the colon, and into nearby tissues. They might have not yet spread over the lymph nodes.

At first, a partial colectomy is performed along with the nearby lymph nodes. It could turn out to be the only treatment needed but in some cases, the doctor would recommend chemotherapy after surgery if your cancer may seem recurring. If your doctor uses chemotherapy, then the main options include capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin, he may use a different combination as well.

Treatment for Stage III colon cancer
At Stage III colon cancer, the affected cells may spread over the lymph nodes but not over any other organs of the body. Surgery may be performed initially to remove the affected part along with the lymph nodes, followed by chemotherapy. It is the standard treatment of colon cancer.

For those who are not healthy enough to perform surgery, the doctor may suggest either chemo or radiation therapy.

Treatment for Stage IV colon cancer
Stage IV is the advanced stage of cancer where the cancerous cells spread from the colon walls to nearby organs and tissues. It could spread to lymph nodes, peritoneum, lungs, and even liver.

In most cases, surgery is not just enough to cure colon cancer at this stage. Treatment includes a combination of surgery and chemo but in some cases, hepatic artery infusion may also be used. In advanced cases, radiation therapy can be used on you to ease out the pain.