Sunday, March 16, 2008

What is the best method to screen for colon cancer


What is the best method to screen for colon cancer?
I have had cramps in my abdomen for the past months and I think it is colon cancer. I wanna go 4 a screening but I don't want it to involve anesthesia. What other options do I have? I really wanna get screened............... Thanks I don't want a colonoscopy because it involves anesthesia
Cancer - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
a colonoscopy is the only way
2 :
You don't say how old you are but people over 50 should have yearly colonoscopies. People with family history of colon cancer should start much earlier, esp if you feel like you are already having symptoms. Theres really no other way then to go up and take a look from the inside. By the time you can see a tumor on an xray it's probably too late.
3 :
1) Why do you think it's cancer? The first sign of colon cancer is RARELY cramps. 2) Routine screening is by a stool smear test. It looks for blood in the stool. 3) "Virtual colonoscopy" is being done, but it's not yet to the standards of regular colonoscopy 4) A sigmoidoscopy is done without anesthesia. 5) I chose to have a colonoscopy under anesthesia. It's NOT normally done that way. Personally, I don't want to be aware of something large going "where the sun don't shine". 6) a colonoscopy is the BEST way to look for cancerous or pre-cancerous polyps.
4 :
As you do not want colonoscopy whist is best to diagnose colon cancer,you can go for Capsule Endoscopy. Although able to identify many lesions and cancers, the relative underperformance of capsule endoscopy -- in which a patient swallows a tiny, battery-operated, excretable capsule fitted with a double-sided video camera -- suggests that for now the more invasive colonoscopy should remain the gold standard for colorectal cancer detection. http://statesman.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/bowe/628979.htm
5 :
Well, CT-colonography is starting to come into use by some Gastro doctors, BUT, if something is detected in the CT-colonography scan like a polyp or a precursor to a cancer you will be having a colonoscopy so they can remove it.
6 :
breast cancer is the the only cancer that matters
7 :
Cramps are not cancer. You might have cramps, and you might have cancer, but the cancer isn't causing the cramping. The ONLY way to detect small cancers is by colonoscopy, pure and simple. You may have a colonoscopy without anesthesia; some people do that. I wouldn't, but I'm not you. Fecal occult blood tests are used for screening, but do not detect cancer, only blood in the stool, which may or may not indicate cancer. And, if the screening is positive, guess what you get? A colonoscopy. Virtual colonoscopies detect polyps that are 1 cm big (like a marble). And, if one is found, guess what you get? A colonoscopy, to remove it. There are some expensive fecal DNA tests, I think, but I don't know much about that. Again, if something is found, you go to colonoscopy for definitive diagnosis. Cramping is more likely to be inflammatory, or diverticulosis/diverticulitis. Those conditions are diagnosed by... colonoscopy. You might get away with a double contrast barium enema, but again, if there is anything suspicious... you know where this is going by now, don't you?
8 :
Go see a doctor. Until you are told you have colon cancer, why don't you assume you don't have colon cancer. When you do see the doctor don't say, "I think I have colon, please find it." Instead tell the doctor your symptoms and let the him/her give you the diagnosis. Cramps in your abdomen can have many causes, some serious, some not. Get yourself checked out. By the way, the anesthesia for a colonoscopy is very light and nothing to worry about. You can even ask for a colonoscopy without any anesthesia, if that's what you want. There are other options to check out your colon. However, none are as effective as the routine colonoscopy.





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Posted by Colon Cancer at 4:02 PM