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A colonoscopy procedure is the most thorough colon cancer screening test. During the 20-minute exam, your doctor will use a fiber-optic tube called a colonoscope to view images of the entire colon and rectum on a TV monitor.
Despite what you may have heard, a colonoscopy is a simple procedure performed by a gastroenterologist. Although it is normal to feel worried or anxious about this test, the test is almost always painless. Patients who are sedated during the examination feel no pain whatsoever. Since intravenous sedation is used during most instances, colonoscopies are usually done in hospitals (out-patient department) or in free-standing endoscopy centers.
And the good news is, if you’re over 50 and have no family history of colon
cancer, you only need to be screened every 10 years. High-risk patients, on the
other hand, should be screened once every two to five years starting at age 40.
Complete our Colon Cancer Quiz to test your knowledge.
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Though various other colorectal cancer screening procedures are available, a colonoscopy is considered the most reliable test because it visualizes the entire colon and offers the capacity to both detect and remove polyps during the exam.
Here are brief descriptions of commonly administered tests:
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A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is a test used to check for hidden blood in the stool. For this type of screening, patients take home a test kit and collect small samples from three consecutive bowel movements, then mail the kit to a lab for analysis. Traces of blood in the stool are a possible sign of cancer or benign polyps, which may be precursors to cancer. Patients who test positive should then get a colonoscopy to see if the blood comes from a polyp or cancer.
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A double contrast barium enema (DCBE) is a series of x-rays of the colon and rectum. The patient is given an enema with a solution that contains barium and air, which outlines the colon and rectum on the x-rays.
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A flexible sigmoidoscopy is an examination of the rectum and lower part of the colon (sigmoid and descending colon) using a flexible lighted tube called a flexible sigmoidoscope. Although this procedure is easy and inexpensive, it only examines the lower third of the colon. Because of this, it is not considered as thorough for the diagnosis or extraction of polyps as a colonoscopy. Sigmoidoscopy, however remains a popular test for patients with disorders such as chronic diarrhea, constipation or lower abdominal pain. If an abnormality is spotted during a sigmoidoscopy, a colonoscopy procedure is recommended to remove a small piece of the growth for testing and to examine the rest of the colon.
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Please contact us to learn which procedure is right
for you.
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