If tumors are limited to the inner layers of your colon, most can expect to live 5 years or more. If the cancer has reached your liver but no other organs, removing part of your liver may prolong your life. Your best prevention is to detect the disease and treat it early in its formation. People who have regular endoscopic colon examinations and polyp removal greatly reduce the number of colorectal cancers. The US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research recommends screening for colon cancer in average-risk people older than 50 years as well as in people 40 years old and older who have a family history of colorectal cancer.
Colonoscopy remains the most sensitive test for detecting colon polyps and tumors.
Once polyps have been identified, you need to have them removed and to begin more frequent endoscopic examination. People in whom biopsies show premalignant changes should undergo surgical removal of their colons. Once your cancerous colon has been removed, your doctor will increase your examinations both to see if the cancer has spread and to detect newly formed cancers. You should have a colonoscopy within 3 months of your surgery. You should have a colonoscopy 1 year after surgery and every 3 years after that.