How do doctors diagnose colon cancer?
When a patient shows symptoms of colon cancer, his or her doctor can screen for the disease using one of several tests: • Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) – Colon cancer can sometimes cause tiny dots of blood, too small for the eye to see, in the feces The FOBT test uses a special chemical to check the patient’s stool sample for these traces of blood. • Flexible-Sigmoidoscopy – Using a thin flexible tube called a simoidoscope, the doctor looks inside the patient’s colon for growths called polyps. • Double Contrast Barium Enema (DCBA) – A silvery-white metallic substance called barium is inserted up the patient’s colon through the rectum. The barium outlines the patient’s colon on an x-ray screen. • Colonoscopy – Using a thin instrument called a colonoscope, the doctor looks inside the patient’s colon. During the procedure, the doctor removes pieces of tissue (called a biopsy) to test them for cancer. If the doctor finds any polyps, he or she can also remove them. A newer method, called v
