A 49-year-old woman is seen for her yearly gynecologic examination. Basic screening indicates a severe anemia, and she is referred to a hematologist. Further investigation of the anemia requires a visit to a gastroenterologist. An endoscopy and colonoscopy are performed, and the woman is diagnosed with a partially obstructing tumor in her colon. After surgery to remove the tumor, the woman and her husband are informed that she has stage III colon cancer with involvement of two lymph nodes.
1. Describe how cancer cells are characterized.
2. Discuss the most commonly reported symptom of cancer.
3. After discussing her diagnosis with an oncologist, the woman chooses to undergo chemotherapy. Because she has already undergone a resection or removal of the tumor, is her treatment therapy considered to be neoadjuvant or adjuvant? Explain.