‘The Bachelor’s’ Tia Booth Reveals Dad’s Stage 4 Colon Cancer Diagnosis; What To Know About This Disease

Related: "Bachelorette's" Becca Kufrin, 30, Makes Big Decision After Losing Dad to Cancer: 'I'm Taking a Proactive Step'

“Cancer is a nasty little word and when it affects someone you love, it feels like getting the wind knocked outta ya,” Booth wrote. “Although not curable, we are all thankful it's treatable with Chemo-started today! Dad said it was boring, but he had a tv, ice water& a recliner so he had it made if you wonder why I handle stress with humor, there it is. Hoping for minimal side effects and that he'll handle treatment like a champ-so far so good!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by T I A B O O T H (@tiarachel91)

What is Advanced Colon Cancer?

Stage 4 colon cancer, also referred to as advanced colon cancer, is when the cancer has spread outside of the colon and into other parts of the body. The most common sites for colon cancer to spread to is the liver, lungs and peritoneum (the lining in your abdomen). While a late stage cancer diagnosis is always scary news to hear, it’s important to note that every patient is different when it comes to cancer, and that there are ways to successfully treat and manage the disease.

Related: Stage Four Colon Cancer: "Not All Patients are the Same"

“I think it’s critical that for stage 4 cancers in general, but certainly for colon cancer, not all stage 4 patients are the same,” Dr. Daniel Labow, chief of the Surgical Oncology Division at Mount Sinai Health System, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. “I think, sometimes, people get labeled stage 4 and they feel there’s no hope.”

Treatment Options For Advanced Colon Cancer

When it comes to treating stage 4 colon cancer, there are a few options to consider alongside your doctor. Chemotherapy and surgery are the two most common treatment options for advanced colon cancer patients, but your treatment plan often has a lot to do with where the cancer has spread. In most circumstances, a combination of both chemo and surgery will be recommended.

Related: Colon Cancer Screening Options And Genetics: Myth Busting With Dr. Heather Yeo

In some cases, it is not possible to surgically remove all of these tumors. In that case, the primary goal of treatment is to manage the cancer or, in other words, to prevent the cancer from growing, spreading and causing symptoms. A combination of patient factors and tumor properties determine which chemotherapy will be used to treat metastatic colon cancer.

Dr. Paul Oberstein breaks down treatment options for stage 4 colon cancer

Of course, there are a few steps to take before determining a treatment plan. This has a lot to do with your health and genetics as a patient. Your doctor will take into consideration things like patient age and how well the patient would be able to tolerate the side effects of chemotherapy. Regarding the specifics of the tumor, the genetic mutations (for example, BRAF and KRAS are two genes that are looked at when evaluating colon cancers) and location of the primary colon tumor are taken into consideration. All of these things are evaluated together, and ultimately used to determine which chemotherapy regimen will be recommended.

Immunotherapy is another option for a subset of advanced colon cancer patients. Pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) is an immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitor that was approved by the FDA last year as a first-line treatment option in the form of an intravenous injection for a subset of colorectal cancer patients specifically those with metastatic or unresectable microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR). Patients with MSI-H or dMMR make up 5-10% of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, and have tumors that contain specific abnormalities which hinders DNA from repairing itself.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.