5 things to know about colorectal cancer screening

What is colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer is the cancer of the colon, that is, in the large intestine or rectum. Both of these organs are a part of your lower part of your digestive system. The rectum is at the end of the colon. Colorectal cancer is deadly for both men and women and it is estimated that about 2 in 24 men and 3 in 24 women will develop colorectal cancer during their lifetime, making this second cancerous disease for both men and women.

The colorectal disease is usually caused by the development of polyps, which are small masses of cells in the rectum or colon. However, these growths start as benign or noncancerous but they can develop into malignant or cancerous tumours over time.

Colon cancer has 4 stages and this disease usually develops without showing any symptoms at all, until the disease has become worse or reached later stages.

The symptoms of colorectal cancer include

• Pain in the Abdominal
• Bleeding In the rectum
• Changes in bowel habits (constipation, diarrhoea or thinner stool)
• Decrease in appetite
• tiredness or fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss

Seek immediate medical help if you experience any of the above mentioned symptoms.

There are multiple options for colorectal cancer screening

The patients with symptoms are usually recommended the following tests for colorectal cancer screening:

Colonoscopy

A colonoscopy or coloscopy is a screening test used to detect changes or abnormalities in the large intestine (colon) and rectum. During a colonoscopy, a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope is inserted into the rectum. A tiny video camera is fitted at the tip of the tube allowing the doctor to view the inside of the entire colon. A colonoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the entire rectum and colon while the patient is put under a sedative.

If polyps are found, they are removed during the exam and sent to a lab for further examination. This is considered the gold standard for colon cancer. The exam usually completes in about 30 minutes and requires a full colon cleansing on the day before the test is done. With normal results, a colonoscopy is repeated every 10 years. The test may be repeated more often if a polyp is found or additional frequent testing is needed if the patients have a family history of this disease or any other cancer. Your doctor would recommend the screening based on your conditions.

Sigmoidoscopy

Like a colonoscopy, Sigmoidoscopy is also a procedure that lets your doctor look inside your sigmoid colon by using a flexible tube with a light on it. It helps your doctor check for ulcers, abnormal cells, and polyp.

It takes only 15-20 minutes to finish and requires a full colon cleansing on the day before the test is required. Sigmoidoscopy is a very less invasive medical examination of the large intestine from the rectum through the nearest part of the colon, the sigmoid colon.

If any evidence of cancer is found, usually, a colonoscopy is recommended so that the physician can look at the entire colon for signs of disease. It is repeated every 5 years. Sigmoidoscopy has fewer side effects and requires less bowel preparation, and poses a lower risk of bowel perforation (an uncommon event, when the screening instrument pokes a hole in the intestine) than colonoscopy.

At-home screening

These tests can be done in the privacy of your home to detect irregularities in your stool. Pass the test kit to your health care provider to get the samples checked for the presence of blood or cancer cells. If evidence of blood or cancer cells is found, further testing includes a must colonoscopy. While the other procedure includes:

• Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT): FIT tests use antibodies to detect blood in the stool.
• DNA Stool Test (i.e. Cologuard): This at-home test detects haemoglobin (proteins in the blood) in stool samples and can also detect certain DNA mutations in the cells shed by advanced adenomas as stool moves via the large intestine and rectum.
• High Sensitivity Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT): The FOBT is one of the most common tests used to screen for colon cancer by checking for blood in the stool.

Colorectal cancer is often preventable

Colorectal cancer usually develops from precancerous polyps or abnormal growths in the colon or rectum and can be removed without surgery.

Colonoscopy should be your final choice

There are various ways to get screened for colorectal cancer like Sigmoidoscopy, at-home stool testing, etc, and each of these has their advantages. Colon cancer screening does not always require a colonoscopy. Stool-based tests are non-invasive procedure options and don’t require prep work and usually finishes within 15 minutes.

Many tests like the DNA Stool Test(i.e. Cologuard), Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) etc can be done at home, with specimens sent into a central laboratory and provide an analysis of DNA for cancerous cells. If any of these screens come up as positive, it is important to have an optical colonoscopy as a final diagnostic step.

Recommendation for colon screening usually starts at age of 50 and some people need more frequent or early testing.

The normal colon takes almost 10 years to become cancerous and it usually starts in people ’50s.
You may need to be screened earlier or often if you or a close relative or family member have had colorectal polyps or colorectal cancer or if you have a genetic syndrome.

Colorectal screening may look different for everyone

All of our body is different and the experience may vary over the patient. Talk to your doctor about your screening schedule based on the risk factors and initial screening results. There’s handful of colorectal screening tests designed for different cases of colon cancer. And your screening type would only be best decided by your physician.

Book an appointment with the Best Cancer Specialist at Oncoplus Hospital.