March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month: Do You Know What Your Screening Op...(Cost-effective Done at home ...),Health

CONS:

• Must be done yearly
• Least effective means of detecting cancer
• Viewed as unsanitary by some
• Patient must retrieve samples of stool in the toilet bowl
• All positive results must be evaluated with a colonoscopy

Flexible sigmoidoscopy (flex-sig):

A sigmoidoscope is a slender, lighted tube about the thickness of a finger. It is placed into the lower part of the colon through the rectum. This allows the physician to look at the inside of the rectum and lower part of the colon for cancer or polyps. This exam only evaluates about one third of the colon. The test is often done without any sedation, so it can be uncomfortable, but it should not be painful. Before the test, you will need to take an enema or other prep to clean out the lower colon.

PROS:

• Quick -- usually a one-to-five minute exam
• Does not require as vigorous a bowel prep as some other methods
• Does not require sedation

CONS:

• Can only examine the lower third of the colon, the other two-thirds of the colon are not examined
• If polyps are found, the patient must return for a full colonoscopy

Colonoscopy:

Colonoscopy allows for a complete evaluation of the colon and removal of potentially precancerous polyps. It is the only colorectal cancer screening tool that is both diagnostic and therapeutic. A complete bowel cleansing is required before the exam. The procedure uses a colonoscope, a thin, flexible tube with a light and video camera on the end that transmits images to a TV screen that allows the doctor to see inside the entire colon. If a polyp is f
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