Like if you detect it early enough, I know you can remove it. But what is the point that it can’t just be removed, and why?
In: Biology
I can give you my experience. I went into the ER 2.5 years ago and found out I had Stage IV cancer in my colon and liver.
They were able to remove a sizable tumor from my colon right away, but it was too risky to also cut out the half my liver that was riddled with cancer at that point. Also, since they knew the cancer somehow went from my colon to my liver, they knew it must’ve travelled between the two somehow. But you can’t just surgically remove your lymphatic system because you need that to live.
So, after the first surgery they attacked the cancer with chemo. After that eliminated a significant amount, they were able to surgically remove some of my liver (though, again, it wouldn’t have been safe for them to remove everything that the cancer touched).
And now they’re continuing with chemo to get the stubborn stuff that’s too small to cut out or even really pinpoint with a CT or an MRI.
Long story short, at some point cancer spreads out so much across your system that you just can’t cut out where it’s at. If you catch it early, though, you might get it all by cutting out the initial tumor and some stuff around it.
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