My father is 79 yrs old and was dx'd with Colon Cancer back in Dec '03. He went back for a 2nd colonoscopy in May 2004 and they removed polyps without opening him up for cancer removal. My question is, if they removed the cancer would he still be taking medications for the cancer? My parents are being very vague as I am 3000 miles away from them. This doesn't make sense to me, so maybe someone can explain this.
Thank you for your time.

Surgery removes what they can see. Chemo is to try and kill the cancerous cells that may still be in the body. Cancers do not always grow in a tight mass, it sends out tendrils that may be only a few cells wide and a surgeon would never be able to see them.

If the only surgery he has had is colonoscopy then the cancer was very small in the first place.