Mayo Clinic's approach
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Mayo Clinic takes a patient-centered approach to colon cancer care. Teams work across specialties including colon and rectal surgery, medical oncology and gastroenterology and hepatology to provide a comprehensive care plan that keeps you and your needs at the center. Mayo Clinic's seamless care experience lets you focus on healing while your care team addresses the many challenges that arise with a cancer diagnosis.
Experience
Within Mayo Clinic's high-volume practice, our teams excel in surgical expertise and comprehensive evaluation, setting the standard for advanced treatment options within a holistic care plan. More than 4,000 people seek colon cancer care at Mayo Clinic each year.
Studies show that people with colon cancer achieve better outcomes when treated at high-volume medical centers specializing in the condition, compared with those treated at centers with less experience.
Advanced cancer expertise
Ongoing research at Mayo Clinic means you may have access to new chemotherapy regimens that are not available elsewhere.
Mayo Clinic in Florida is participating in the only U.S. clinical trial on the safety and efficacy of pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC), an innovative potential solution for people whose cancer has spread to their abdominal cavity and is untreatable using conventional approaches.
Mayo Clinic also offers highly specialized therapies for advanced colon cancer, including:
- Hepatic artery infusion pump therapy (HAIP). HAIP delivers chemotherapy directly to the liver, preventing cancer recurrence or shrinking cancer and making curative surgery possible. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons recommends that HAIP only be done in centers with the appropriate expertise.
- Cytoreductive surgery with hepatic artery infusion pump chemotherapy (HIPEC). Mayo Clinic specializes in cytoreductive surgery combined with HIPEC for treating colon cancer that has spread to the abdominal cavity. In cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC, cancerous tumors are first surgically removed from the peritoneum. The cavity is then bathed with hot chemotherapy to kill any microscopic cancer cells that remain. Mayo Clinic invented an approach to this multidisciplinary treatment that uses less fluid and has led to shorter recovery times.
Your doctor may talk with you about participating in a clinical trial. Clinical trials give you access to medicines and the latest treatments not yet generally available.
Holistic cancer care
Doctors at Mayo Clinic use a wide variety of individualized chemotherapy programs to treat many forms of cancer. Mayo Clinic also offers palliative care services to help you manage the side effects of chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer as well as symptoms of cancer itself. Specialists in integrative medicine can provide further guidance on healthy lifestyle, nutritional and herbal supplements, and wellness coaching.
Cancer survivorship clinics are available after cancer treatment ends. A cancer survivorship clinic may help you cope with the physical and emotional changes that sometimes happen after cancer treatment.
Expertise and rankings
Nationally recognized expertise
Outside organizations recognize Mayo Clinic cancer specialists through accreditations, grants and rankings:
- Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center and is the only such center with three unique locations. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
- Mayo Clinic is among the highest-ranked cancer centers in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.
- Mayo Clinic ranks No. 1 in the nation for gastroenterology and GI surgery according to U.S. News & World Report.
- Mayo Clinic is accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is ranked the top hospital in Florida.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.