For colon cancer there is not a standalone treatment prescribed by doctors instead depending upon the size, location, area of concern and severity a combination of different treatments is ordained. A prerequisite to surgery in colon cancer treatment is radiation therapy whereby the tumor is reduced to nominal size. Radiation therapy simply destroys the cancerous tissues.
Only then the surgical resection is performed which involves removing the affected part of the colon and its lymph nodes. Chemotherapy involves chemicals drugs to kill the cancerous cells. This cellular level treatment has its own side effects. To keep the cancer from resurfacing targeted therapy is utilized. In targeted therapy specific proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread is targeted.