Stages of bowel cancer | Cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Heading Stages of bowel cancer

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If you have bowel cancer, you might be told it’s at a certain stage. This describes whether or not it has spread to other parts of your body, and how far it has spread in your body. Knowing the stage of the cancer helps you and your doctors to decide on the best treatment for you.

Stage 0: This is not really cancer, but it might become cancer.
Stage 1: The cancer is small and located only in the bowel.
Stage 2: The cancer is bigger and might be touching other organs close to the bowel.
Stage 3: The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage 4: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the liver, lungs or lymph nodes far away from the bowel – this is also known as late stage or metastatic cancer.

With all stages of bowel cancer, there is plenty of treatment and support that can help you, including traditional medicine and practices like ceremony and being on Country.