General information on how bowel (colorectal) cancer is assessed and treated, and how a review with a colorectal oncology team at a partner clinic is coordinated.
Important
This is general information, not medical advice. Cancer care decisions must be made with your treating oncologist. In an emergency, contact your local emergency services.
ELAVIA Global coordinates care; it does not provide medical treatment. All cancer care is delivered by independent partner clinics and their licensed oncologists.
A second opinion is an additional view, not a replacement for your current care. Please do not stop, delay or change any treatment without speaking to your treating team.
Colorectal cancer affects the colon or the rectum. It is usually diagnosed by colonoscopy and biopsy and staged with CT scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis; rectal cancer is also assessed with a pelvic MRI. Tumour tests such as RAS, BRAF and mismatch repair (MMR or MSI) status can help guide treatment choices.
Depending on the location and stage, a plan may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy (more often for rectal cancer), targeted therapy or immunotherapy. The order of treatment matters: some people with rectal cancer receive treatment before surgery. In some situations, the team may also discuss treatment of spread to the liver or lungs.
Plans are usually agreed by a multidisciplinary team, and the information here is general. Your options can only be set out after a full review of your case.
You contact a coordinator and describe what you would like reviewed. We explain what we can and cannot do: ELAVIA Global coordinates care and does not give medical advice or treatment.
With your consent, your reports, imaging and pathology are shared securely with an oncologist at an independent partner clinic. Original scan files or pathology slides may need to be re-reviewed, or some tests repeated.
A colorectal team at the partner clinic reviews the case and explains the general approach and order of treatment it would recommend. Additional tests may be advised.
If you decide to proceed at a partner clinic, surgery or other treatment is delivered by its licensed team. If a stoma is part of the plan, the hospital’s nursing team teaches you how to care for it.
You receive written reports to take home. Ongoing follow-up is usually arranged with your oncologist at home, and the coordinator helps share records between the teams.
These are general examples only. Whether any test or treatment is appropriate is decided by a treating oncologist after examination, imaging and pathology review.
Send copies and keep your originals. The reviewing team may ask for further records, or for some tests to be repeated.
Cost depends on the diagnosis and treatment plan and is confirmed in a written quote after consultation.
Not everyone does. It depends on the position of the tumour, the type of operation and other factors, and some stomas are temporary. The surgeon explains whether a stoma is likely in your case before any operation.
For some rectal cancers, guidelines recommend radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy before surgery. Whether this applies to you depends on the MRI staging and the team’s assessment.
These tests look at how tumour cells repair their DNA. The results can affect treatment choices, including the possible use of immunotherapy, and may indicate whether genetic counselling for the family is worth discussing.
Share your records and questions. A coordinator explains how a review with a partner oncologist can be arranged. There is no obligation to proceed, and your current care continues as planned.
This is general information, not medical advice. Cancer care decisions must be made with your treating oncologist. In an emergency, contact your local emergency services. ELAVIA Global coordinates care; it does not provide medical treatment. All cancer care is delivered by independent partner clinics and their licensed oncologists.