Colon Cancer Diagnosis  

Sometimes the cancer is detected during a routine colonoscopy performed for other medical conditions such as polyps in a person with a family history of colon cancer. Colon cancer can also be found in someone who experiences bloody in the stool and who has done a stool test.  

Your chances of recovery are very high when the diagnosis is made early. Unfortunately, colon cancer is often detected very late after the disease has already damaged the tissues of the colon. If you experience symptoms of colon cancer, it is important not to make your own diagnosis; only a medical specialist can confirm or not the disease.  

It is extremely important to see a health care provider if you experience symptoms of colon cancer for over three weeks. Your physician will perform medical procedures to detect the tumor and determine appropriate treatments. Most commons tests performed during a colon cancer diagnosis include:  

Physical exam – to start the diagnosis, your doctor will question you about your medical history and the symptoms you experience. It is important that you detail all the symptoms and the time they occur. Tell your doctor all recent changes occurring in your digestive system. If your doctor suspects cancerous sign, a stool test will be recommended.  

Stool test - colon cancer can be detected early by less complicated diagnostic procedures. Although simple, the stool test can help your doctor detect presence of blood in your stool. In fact, even without signs of colon cancer, this test is recommended every two years as a means of screening for men and women aged 50 to 74 years. If the test has revealed blood in your stool, other tests such as rectal examination, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, barium enema, ultrasound and CT scan will be performed to confirm the diagnosis.     

Digital rectal examination (DRE) - a DRE is diagnostic technique during which your doctor inserts a gloved finger into your rectal cavity searching for abnormalities. The DRE helps your physician to detect abnormal growth in the rectum, but it can’t confirm if it is cancerous; other medical techniques such as colonoscopy, barium enema and sigmoidoscopy will be performed.   Digital rectal exam is painless; however, some patients find it uncomfortable. 

Sigmoidoscopy - this invasive medical procedure allows your physician to examine the lining of your rectum and lower colon, using a sigmoidoscope - a hollow tube with a camera on the end. During the procedure, your health care provider inserts the tube through your rectum into the terminal section of your large intestine (sigmoid colon) to visualize and analyze it. In case of presence of growths (polyps), samples will be taken to be examined under microscope to look for cancer cells.  

Barium enema - this radiological examination allows your doctor to visualize your lower gastrointestinal (GI) segment and confirm presence of polyps after filling the colon with a contrast material containing barium. During the procedure, the specialist injects the barium into your colon through a small tube placed in your anus. The barium travels throughout the colon and lining its walls in order to make them clearly visible on X-rays. This is a quick and painless test; however, it is less and less performed since the generalization of colonoscopy.  

Colonoscopy – a colonoscopic procedure allows the visualization of the inside of the colon in its entire length using a fiber optic flexible. During the exam, your physician inserts through your rectum a flexible tube with a light called endoscope. Unlike barium enema, colonoscopy allows your doctor to perform a biopsy of the tumor and removal of any polyps.    

Other tests - other tests such as ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) are used in the diagnosis of colon cancer. These techniques allow your doctor to determine the stage of the cancer, and detect if it has spread to other organs (metastatic colon cancer) such as the liver.  

                     Complications                                                                     Stages