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Reviewed By: Andrew Seibert,
SOURCES: 2010 Medical Reference from Medstar Television. Scott Kopetz, MD, Gastrointestinal Oncologist, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
© 1999-2011 Medstar Television
72-Year-old Mike Richards discovered he had colorectal cancer despite his wife's best efforts to get him screened much earlier.
I'd never had a colonoscopy. My wife had been trying to get me to do that. But, you know, we're bullet proof, we're guys.
Bullet proof. Maybe. But not cancer proof. The cancer spread to his liver, which usually means a low chance of survival.
On average, patients lived little under one year.
A study out of M-D Anderson Cancer Center shows survival rates from metastatic colorectal cancer have dramatically improved in the past 15 years. Patients are living an average of three years after the diagnosis for two major reasons.
One is improved chemotherapy and the second is advances in the use of surgery for metastatic disease.
For Mike, that meant removing 15- percent of his liver.
That region right there.
Improved chemotherapy and more available drugs also help.
For many years, we had one drug that we used for colon cancer. Since in the past decade, this number has increased to about seven.
The study shows doctors have made some promising advances in treating cancer using the chemo-surgery combo.
But, at the same time, it also reminds us we have a long way to go.
Mike's staying active and on top of his health daily.
I do an hour essentially everyday either walking out in front of my home or on a treadmill.
Mike's a four-year survivor of the disease and recent check ups show he remains cancer free. For WebMD, I'm Damon Meharg.
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