Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer starts when cells in the colon or rectum begin to grow out of control. These two cancers have many common features and are often grouped together It is the third most common cancer in both American men and women. Death rate from colorectal cancer has begun to drop, because of both earlier screening and better treatments. 

Colorectal Cancer Survival Rates

5-year relative survival for Providence patients is higher than national survival as tracked by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The survival statistics in the graph below indicate that survival is highest when colon and rectal cancers are caught at the earliest stages. The survival rate of patients with any stage of colorectal cancer treated at Providence exceeds average survival rates nationally.

5-year Relative Survival Rate: Colorectal Cancer

*See footnote for information on the above survival statistics and methods.

* The Providence patient groups include all patients diagnosed with cancer from 2009- 2015 who received all or part of their initial course of treatment at Providence Cancer Institute. The 5-year survival was calculated using Actuarial Survival methods. SEER relative-survival rates used for comparison are also for patients diagnosed from 2009-2015. These statistics are based on the November 2018 submission of data from the population-based SEER 18 registries and SEER*Stat Database. The survival rates have not been adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity or insurance status.

More information on SEER survival statistics and methods ›

Colorectal Cancer Standards of Care

National Standards of Cancer Care

Patients treated according to national guidelines for cancer care have the best survival rates and quality of life. Providence Cancer Institute meets or exceeds the targets set by the Commission on Cancer (CoC).

Commission on Cancer (CoC) Cancer Program Profile Reports (CP3R) Colon & Rectal Performance Measures

Select Measures CoC Benchmark PPMC 2017 Performance1 PSVMC 2017 Performance1
Lymph Node Examination
At least 12 regional lymph nodes are moved and pathologically examined for colon cancer (Quality Improvement)		 85% 98.1% 97.7%
Chemotherapy Treatment Timeline
Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended or administered within 4 months (120 days) of diagnosis for patients under the age of 80 with AJCC stage III, lymph node positive colon cancer. (Accountability)		 * 93.4% 100%
Radiation & Chemo Treatment Timeline
Preoperative chemo and radiation are administered for clinical AJCC T3N0, T4N0, or Stage III; or Postoperative chemo and radiation are administered within 180 days of diagnosis for clinical AJCC T1-2N0 with pathologic AJCC T3N0, T4N0, or Stage III; or treatment is recommended for patients under the age of 80 receiving resection for rectal cancer (Quality Improvement)		 85% 96.1% 88.2%

1 Most recent complete treatment data available from our cancer registry.

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* No CoC benchmark established at this time