What Is A Digital Rectal Exam?
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A Digital Rectal Exam Feels Embarrassing, But Can Detect Cancer, So It Is Vital To Have One Regularly
A digital rectal examination is a procedure which many people are embarrassed about and fear. While it is an unpleasant idea, it can help detect tumors in the rectum.
What You Should Tell Your Doctor before a Digital Rectal Examination
You should tell your doctor before the examination if you have hemorrhoids. The doctor will try not to disturb the hemorrhoids.
In addition, if the skin is torn around your anus, you should let your doctor know.
How a Digital Rectal Examination is Performed
Your doctor will ask you to remove your clothes below the waist and give you a gown to put on.
For women, he will ask you to lie on your back on the examination table and put your feet in stirrups. For men, he will either ask you to bend over from the waist or lie on your left side with your knees pulled up to your chest.
The doctor will put on a lubricated glove, gently put one finger into your rectum and press against the walls of your rectum. There may possibly be some discomfort or pressure when he does this, but it is not normally painful.
In rare cases, some people may feel lightheaded. Fear commonly causes this.
This examination lasts between 1 to 2 minutes.
Why a Digital Rectal Examination is Performed
A digital rectal examination is performed for many reasons, one of which is to check for cancer growths in your rectum.
If your doctor feels a growth, she will send you for a more detailed colon screening tests, such as a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. These are tests where a small camera on a flexible hose is inserted into your colon. The camera allows your doctor to view the colon on a television screen for abnormal growths. You are given medication to sedate you so there is no pain.
What Happens After a Digital Rectal Examination?
You may feel a little sore after the test, but it will quickly pass. In rare cases, there might be a small amount of blood, but this is nothing to be concerned about.
Because digital rectal examinations detect less than 10 percent of colon cancers from rectal polyps, your doctor will also ask you provide stool samples for testing. The tests will find if there is any blood in your stool. If there is, then your doctor will want you to undergo a colonoscopy.
You may feel so ashamed by the idea of a digital rectal examination that you do not even want to see your doctor. It would be nice to simply 'think positive thoughts' but we know that is usually impossible. Instead, you just have to recognize this is important to your life and health. A digital rectal examination may detect if there are abnormalities. The examination lasts only a minute or two. That is a tiny portion out of your life and it may even save your life. It is worth it for your health and for the people who love you.
Your doctor understands people are uncomfortable with digital rectal examinations. She will treat you with respect and dignity and do her best to perform the test quickly.
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 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.
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