How Does Colon Cancer Spread in The Body?

HOW DOES COLON CANCER SPREAD IN THE BODY?

Cancer may spread from where it began to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. Cancer cells break away from where they began (the primary tumor) and travel through the body.

There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body. Cancer can spread through tissue, the lymph system, and the blood:

Tissue. The cancer spreads from where it began by growing into nearby areas. This is called local spread.

Lymph system. The cancer spreads from where it began by getting into the lymph system. It lodges in the local lymph glands. Then the cancer cells travels through the lymph vessels to other parts of the body where they eventually lodge and start growing.

Blood. The cancer spreads from where it began by getting into the blood. The cancer travels through the blood vessels to other parts of the body. They can travel very far in the body such as into the liver, lungs or brain and lodge there in the tissues. There they start growing and develop into metastatic tumor.

The metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if colon cancer spreads to the lung, the cancer cells in the lung are actually colon cancer cells. The disease is metastatic colon cancer, not lung cancer.

Many cancer deaths are caused when cancer moves from the original tumor and spreads to other tissues and organs. This is called metastatic cancer. It takes over the nutrition and function of these distant organs thereby starving the human body of all its nutrients.

Khawaja Azimuddin M.D. & Tal Raphaeli M.D. & Jean Knapps M.D.

1125 Cypress Station Dr, Suite G, Houston TX 77090

Tel: 281-583 1300 Fax: 281-583 1303

Houston Colon & Rectal surgery PA

The Hemorrhoid Center