Colonoscopy is the Definitive Method to Prevent and Diagnose Colon Cancer

On this page we describe colonoscopy and other methods used to prevent and diagnose colon cancer. However, it is our heartfelt desire that you become a part of this website and contribute your personal experience with the various methods and in particular, colonoscopy so that other's may benefit. Your stories, tips, experiences and advice are all welcome and will be published here. You can remain anonymous if you choose. You can submit your own story here or you can read stories submitted by others here.

There are several methods to use when diagnosing colon cancer and we'll discuss each of them. The easy ones should be part of everybody's annual physical and everyone should have a colonoscopy every 5 years after age 50. The more complicated procedures are used when you or your doctor see signs or symptoms.

Diagnosis Methods

• digital rectal exam
• fecal occult blood test
• sigmoidoscopy
• colonoscopy
• imaging tests using X-ray, ultrasound, or CT scans

There are also some new, still experimental procedures:

• virtual colonoscopy
• blood test of a substance called carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

Digital Rectal Exam

Your doctor can easily perform a digital rectal exam with his fingers (digits) to check for abnormal growths in the rectum, the last part of your colon. It can be uncomfortable or unpleasant for a minute or two. But it is very simple, fast and easy- and no preparation is needed.

Fecal Occult Blood Test

With a fecal occult blood test, your doctor will give you one of a few different kinds of kits to test for blood in your stool. The nurse will explain how to collect a stool sample at home and where to mail the kit. Your doctor will be sent the results and give you a report. The test is called occult because signs of blood are hidden in feces, and the test uses special chemicals to determine if blood is there.

Sigmoidoscopy

Sigmoidoscopy should probably be done every 5 years after you turn 50, and perhaps sooner if your doctor thinks that there may be a problem. This test requires preparation the night before. You'll also need someone to get you home, because you'll be a little sedated and will probably feel uncomfortable.

The doctor inserts a tube into your rectum carefully, and slowly moves it up the left side of your colon. She then slowly removes it while looking at a TV image from inside your colon from a camera in the tip of the tube. At this time, she can remove any polyps with small surgical instruments built into the tube and see if there are any other problems.

Colonoscopy

The most common and reliable method of diagnosing colon cancer is colonoscopy. This procedure is similar to the sigmoidoscopy, but the tube is longer. This gives a complete view of the entire colon and rectum. Some doctors don't think a patient should bother with a sigmoidoscopy since it only shows the last 1/3 of the colon and doesn't show anything about the first 2/3 of your colon.

The preparation for this test is very similar to the sigmoidoscopy test - emptying your colon the night before and needing someone to bring you back home because you'll be a little sedated and will probably feel uncomfortable.

Procedures Other Than a Colonoscopy

Doctors have several methods to look at your colon without placing a tube in there:

• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• CT scans

The X-ray technique requires administering an enema containing Barium to allow the entire colon to be clearly seen on an X-ray. Ultrasound scanning can be tried, but it doesn't always work very well. Sometimes an ultrasound scanner is attached to a colonoscope, but that requires the colonoscope procedure. CT scans are the short name for Computerized Tomography.

As with other procedures, this requires preparation with a complete colon-cleansing agent. It also involves a tube that is inserted into the rectum, but does not require sedation. This procedure is not capable of finding each and every tumor as thoroughly as the colonoscopy method.

All three of these procedures only give the doctor pictures of the colon. If she sees something inside the colon, she still has to remove it using a colonoscope.

Virtual Colonoscopy

You may have heard of a Virtual colonoscopy. This is done using computerized tomography (CT) scanning, or sometimes a magnetic resource imaging (MRI) machine is used. The advantage of this procedure is that the patient is not sedated and it is quick. The disadvantage is that many doctors don't think it can catch each polyp. And when a problem is found, the patient may still need a colonoscopy procedure to take care of it.

Your doctor may want you to get a blood test of a substance called carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). CEA is a protein that increases when someone has colon cancer. Testing to see if the amount goes up or down during treatment helps your doctor know if the treatment to get rid of the cancer is working.

More Information

This page gives you very brief information on the different methods of diagnosing colon cancer. It is really important to understand the specifics for each procedure and we are writing that for you. You can click here to let us know if you want more detailed information. Or use the form at the right to sign up for our newsletter so we can let you know when more information is available. You can also look at the other pages on this site to read more information about these topics.

Protect Yourself From the High Cost of Cancer

According to the recent studies, American men have a 44% chance of developing cancer while the chances for women are about 37%. The general risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 6%. For this reason, it's important for everyone, particularly people above the age of 50 years, to go for routine screening.

Whether discovered early or late, cancer is a debilitating disease due to the care, costs and the mental and physical trauma involved. Many times the cost of treatment leaves the patient in heavy financial distress.

Most insurance plans do not cover the total cost of the treatment, which leaves the patient and their family in a lurch. These days people have started purchasing affordable supplemental cancer insurance that can help in covering otherwise uninsured expenses related to cancer illness. If you would like to learn more about supplemental cancer insurance you can click here.

Written by Steve Goldner - 2/24/09

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