Chemotherapy is not suitable if colon fistula has not healed

My mother is 66 years old. She had surgery for colon cancer at the end of August last year. The postoperative pathology was mid-term. A colon fistula appeared 7 days after the surgery. It has been half a year now. Now only a small amount of water and air are flowing out of the fistula, but no feces. A few days ago, she went to the hospital for pelvic and liver and gallbladder ultrasound, lung X-ray and tumor marker examinations, and there was no sign of metastasis. It has been half a year now. Doctor, can my mother undergo chemotherapy if her colon fistula has not completely healed?

Chemotherapy is a treatment method that uses chemical drugs to kill tumor cells, inhibit the growth and reproduction of tumor cells, and promote the differentiation of tumor cells. It is a systemic treatment that has therapeutic effects on primary lesions, metastatic lesions, and subclinical metastatic lesions. However, while chemotherapy kills tumor cells, it also kills normal cells and immune cells.

Chemotherapy after radical surgery, also known as adjuvant chemotherapy, is an important part of the comprehensive treatment of colon cancer. Early chemotherapy after surgery can achieve the greatest goal of eliminating the tumor.

Colon fistula often occurs 4 to 5 days after colon repair or intestinal resection and anastomosis due to colon injury, inflammation or tumor. The anastomosis will rupture and leak fluid. The abdominal pain will initially be relieved after the operation, but then persistent abdominal pain will worsen.

If the colon fistula has not completely healed, chemotherapy has side effects and may aggravate the condition. It is recommended to use conservative treatment to control cancer cells while improving the patient's own immunity. Chemotherapy can be continued after the physical condition can accept the side effects of chemotherapy.