COLON CANCER TREATMENT RECOMMENDATION

[morgan16]

URGENT TREATMENT ADVICE.
MY WIFE DIAGNOSED WITH COLON CANCER, A CAT SCAN ALSO SHOWED A 3cm. TUMOR THAT HAD METASTATED TO THE LIVER. A CECUM RESECTION WAS PERFORMED AND AT THAT TIME 22 LYMPH NODES WERE REMOVED WITH ONLY 1 BEING CANCEROUS. A BIOPSY REPORTED THE TUMOR TO BE NON MALIGNANT. THE ONLY CANCER WAS THE TUMOR IN THE LIVER.
MY QUESTION IS WHICH TREATMENT WOULD BE, IN YOUR OPINION, THE BEST:
1- LEAVE IT ALONE AND MONITOR ANY GROWTH FROM TIME TO TIME SEEING IT IS NON MALIGNANT.
2- SURGICAL REMOVAL
3- RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION
4- CHEMOTHERAPY

I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR COMMENTS.

MORGAN16

[555boston]

I am  confused:

1. Was the tumor in the liver biopsied? Was it malignant or benign?
2. The colon tumor had already gone to 1 lymphnode, so it cannot be benign. Right?

If the tumor in the liver was benign, there is no need for liver resection or radio frequency ablation. If it was malignant then your wife has stage 4 cancer and usually chemotherapy would be indicated. However if the colon tumor had spread to even 1 lymph node, then it is atleast a stage III and standard treatment would include a few months of chemotherapy.

[SweetHaven3]

Hello--555boston has given good advice.  If it hasn't been determined whether the tumor is cancerous, you can't really make a decision.  If cancerous, the staging will also help you determine the best treatment.  Also, her age and general health are factors.  My father is 83, is diabetic, has cardiac problems and has liver cancer that metastasized from colon cancer.  No surgery is without the obvious risks, and risk is higher with greater age/and/or other health problems.  We chose radiofrequency ablation.  Even that was very risky for him, and we were told that it was probably not a cure, but would hopefully retard the progress of the cancer.  And it did buy him a few months.  But one of his tumors was near the hepatic artery, and they nicked something, and he began bleeding after leaving the hospital and had to be re-opened for more surgery.  Keep in mind, the ablation is only an option while the tumor is small.  So, if that is your choice, you cannot "watch and wait" terrribly long.  Your doctors will have actual limitations on the size of tumor they will tackle.  Be sure to ask early what that number is.
     Best of luck with your treatment!  
     Sincerely, SweetHaven3