Jeff’s heart sank when his doctor told him that he had an uncommon colon cancer called high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. It had already spread from his colon to both lobes of his liver, and the prognosis was poor. Even with aggressive treatment, the average life expectancy was only 12 months.
Though Jeff and his wife were being treated at a well-known university hospital, his doctor’s first words on entering the room were, “We almost never see this; 99% of the colon cancer we treat is adenocarcinoma.” Jeff’s doctor followed the standard treatment protocol, but it didn’t reduce the size of the metastases in his liver.
