How to Detect Colon Cancer
Cancer is one of the many life-threatening conditions that some individuals face these days. But little do they know that if they just exert a little effort on scheduling and attending the annual physical examination, early detection and early treatment could help them survive these difficult times. Everyone should always put health as a top priority.
This article will tell you all about colon cancer since this is one of the many cancers that have been experienced by some already. Colon cancer begins in the large intestine, the last part of the digestive tract. Colon cancer usually affects older adults, but this does not mean that younger adults are impossible to have one, and begins as small benign cells that gather inside the colon.
Symptoms of colon cancer are the following: changes in bowel habits or having diarrhea or constipation, in addition to that, the stool’s consistency also changes; presence of blood in stool or rectal bleeding; abdominal cramps or pain that lasts long; excessive gas; feeling of weakness and fatigue; and unexplained weight loss. If all of this, or majority or it, are present then you must go immediately to the nearest hospital and have yourself checked and be diagnosed before it is too late.
Now how is colon cancer detected? There are four tests that can be done in order to detect whether an individual has colon cancer or just having a symptom of it. These four tests are Blood Testing, Colonoscopy, X-ray, and CT scan. Below are the detailed explanations about these tests and how they can help the medical professionals in colon cancer screening.
Blood testing can help the doctors get an idea of what is causing the symptoms you have reported. With this test, doctors will be able to rule out other diseases that they think could be the reason for what you feel. The medical team just simply needs to extract an ample amount of your blood then send it to the laboratory for testing.
A colonoscopy uses a long instrument that has an attached camera to check for anything unusual inside the rectum and colon. During this procedure, your doctor can get some tissues inside your colon. This tissue will then be sent to the laboratory for further examination.
X-ray machines and CT scans are both used to get images of your colon. With the help of these instruments, your doctor will be able to see a detailed image that can help him in the diagnosis of your condition.
Once the detection of colon cancer is done, treatment is the next step of the doctors. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiations, and medications are the options for treatment. Usually, early detection of colon cancer will have higher chances of treatment success rate because, in this stage, the cancer cells have not yet spread to the other parts of the body. So it is better to have an annual physical examination before everything is too late. Always remember that we only have one life so make the most out of it.