The best test for bowel cancer is a colonoscopy, which examines the length of the large bowel. Air is pumped into the colon through a flexible tube that is inserted into the anus. A camera on the end of the tube allows your doctor to look for abnormal tissue that is removed for further examination.
Colon Cancer Diagnosis: Getting a Colonoscopy
Screening is crucial for cancer detection because most colorectal cancers don't cause symptoms in the early stages. Many times, doctors first spot colon cancer during a routine screening colonoscopy.
; however, despite this effectiveness, it has also become evident that colonoscopy is not perfect and cancers occur after a “clear” colonoscopy at a rate of between 2.5% and 8.7% of the total cancers diagnosed, depending on the method used to calculate and the population.
You should get a letter or a call with your results 2 to 3 weeks after a colonoscopy. If a GP sent you for the test, they should also get a copy of your results. Call the hospital if you have not heard anything after 3 weeks.
“These cancer screenings can still potentially save lives.” Previous studies have shown that colonoscopies reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 40% to 69% and reduce the risk of death from the disease by 29% to 88%, according to the study.
Colonoscopy. In this test, the rectum and entire colon are examined using a colonoscope, a flexible lighted tube with a lens for viewing and a tool for removing tissue.
Your doctor will tell you when you can eat and do your other usual activities. Your doctor will talk to you about when you'll need your next colonoscopy. Your doctor can help you decide how often you need to be checked. This will depend on the results of your test and your risk for colorectal cancer.
“Less than 1% of colonoscopies result in a finding of cancer,” says Uppal. “But even if yours is one of them, no one is going to perform an unplanned procedure on you while you're sedated. Sometimes, we might have to stop the colonoscopy because there's too much stool present for us to see things clearly.
When You'll Get Your Colonoscopy Results. If you had tissue removed for testing, your doctor will let you know right away. However, it will take some time to receive your test results from the lab that will confirm or rule out cancer.
Colon cancer can cause both constipation and diarrhea. A person may feel cramp-like pain in the stomach. The stool may be streaked or mixed with blood. In rectal cancer, the most common symptom is usually bleeding when going to the bathroom.
Gastroscopy and colonoscopy are the main tests to detect gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, in the early stages. Both procedures are performed under light anesthetic to check for any abnormality in the digestive system.
If a polyp has cancerous cells, they will also biopsy nearby lymph nodes to determine if the cancer has spread or metastasized to other areas of the body. In this case radiation, chemotherapy or other therapies may be recommended. Colonoscopy screenings can be life saving!
So, despite having had a 'clear' colonoscopy, some patients go onto develop bowel cancer – referred to as post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) or 'undetected cancer'. Not detecting a cancer in this way can lead to poorer outcomes for patients – the earlier the cancer is identified the more treatable it is.
Detection and Diagnosis
Finding cancer early, when it's small and hasn't spread, often allows for more treatment options. Some early cancers may have signs and symptoms that can be noticed, but that's not always the case.
Studying de-identified health insurance data on more than 5,000 patients with early-onset colorectal cancer — cancer that occurs before a person turns 50 — the researchers found that in the period between three months and two years before diagnosis, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea and iron deficiency anemia ...
After your colonoscopy, you will stay in a recovery area until your sedatives wear off. If any polyps are removed, they will be sent to a lab for analysis. The results can be cancerous, precancerous, or noncancerous.
Call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms after your test: Severe pain or cramping in your belly. A hard belly. Trouble passing gas or pooping.
The most frequent colonoscopy-related complication that causes mortality is a perforation. The overall mortality rate was 25.6% among those who underwent surgical treatment after a colonoscopy perforation[31].
Disease in the right colon can give more subtle symptoms than cancer located on the left side, which is often associated with pain.
Lenhart said, colon cancer patients describe symptoms including gastrointestinal bleeding, bowel obstruction, nausea, weight loss and constipation or diarrhea. “Polyps and early cancer can often be asymptomatic,” she said. “The point is to be able to detect things early. Not all patients are going to have GI symptoms.”
Signs and symptoms
The 3 main symptoms of bowel cancer are blood in the stools (faeces), changes in bowel habit – such as more frequent, looser stools – and abdominal (tummy) pain. However, these symptoms are very common and most people with them do not have bowel cancer.
Rectal bleeding is the most obvious colon cancer symptom, but there are other, more subtle signs, like learning you're anemic. It may be the first sign that you're bleeding internally. Other signs are you can't catch your breath, you feel bloated or crampy and you have severe constipation.
Many cases of colon cancer have no symptoms. If there are symptoms, the following may indicate colon cancer: Abdominal pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen.