Examination and Diagnosis
The rate of rectal cancer has greatly reduced in the last few years, this due to high awareness of the risk factors, sign and symptoms. Regular screening detects early stage of rectal polyps or cancer which could be treated and recurrence prevented.
Note: Early stages of the cancer present no symptoms refereed as asymptomatic.
Note: Early stages of the cancer present no symptoms refereed as asymptomatic.
- Fecal occult blood test-FOBT/ Fecal immunochemical test: This test is to check the presence of blood in stool apparently not visible with the eye . Patient with a positive fecal occult blood test are almost always referred to undergo sigmoidoscopy as blood in the stool dose not necessary indicate rectal polyps/ cancer alone, other conditions such as hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disasea are few others with FOBT positive .
- Digital rectal examination -Gloved Finger test: This is a test were your Doctor asks you to lie on your side in case of women or bend over in case of men while he insert a finger into the rectum via the anal canal to feel for abnormality within the rectum ( a good test for prostatic tumor). This is test is not often as its replaced with Flex-sig.
- Flexible Sigmoidoscopy-Flex- Sig: There is also a rigid sigmoidoscopy but flex-sig is generally accept than the rigid. This is a finger like flexible endoscopy to view empty colon and the rectum to detect polyps and any other abnormality. Large polyps (> 1 cm) discovered should undergo a full colonoscopy. Flex-sig is often used in conjunction with FOBT in cancer screening.
- Colonoscopy: This is similar to flex-sig but lager in width and longer with an optic camera attached to it. traditional colonoscopy procedure is performed on an empty colon , so patients are advice to eat low fiber diet for 1-3 days and this test is performed under laxative and sedation. The procedure is less hectic using a modern colonoscopy otherwise called the visual colonoscopy. The visual or CT colonography which uses x-ray and computers to give a three dimensional image gives a visual diagnosis detecting polyps or any abnormality. Endoscopic ultrasound another name for CT colonoscopy, can simeasure the size of lymph nodes around the the rectum, this is to check if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or not. During a colonoscopy, pre-cancerous polyps can be removed as well as some abnormal tissue for Biopsy. Biopsy of tissue can be done using the CT colonoscopy with taking it to the laboratory. Below is a diagram on an CT colonoscopy.