To check for indicators of colon cancer treatment or noncancerous colon polyps, doctors advise various screening tests for healthy individuals with no symptoms or signs. The best opportunity for a cure is found when colon cancer is discovered in its earliest stages. Your chance of dying from colon cancer has been found to decrease with screening. Doctors generally advise that screenings start around age 45 for those with an average risk of colon cancer. However, those at higher risk—for example, those with a family history of colon cancer or African-American heritage—should consider screening earlier. There are various screening options, each having advantages and disadvantages. After discussing your options with your doctor, you can select which tests are appropriate for you.

Examination And Process

Examination of your colon’s interior using a scope (colonoscopy). A colonoscopy uses a long, flexible, and thin tube connected to a video camera and monitor to observe your whole colon and rectum. Your doctor may insert surgical instruments through the line to take tissue samples (biopsies) from any worrisome locations, remove polyps, and analyze the pieces—a blood test. You cannot diagnose colon cancer with a blood test. However, your physician might perform blood tests, such as kidney and liver function checks, to look for indicators of your general health.

Your doctor can suggest testing to determine your cancer’s extent (stage) if you have been diagnosed with colon cancer. Staging aids in identifying the treatments that are most effective for you. Imaging techniques include chest, pelvic, and abdominal CT scans that may be used as staging tests. Many times, it takes colon cancer surgery to diagnose the stage of your cancer fully. Roman numerals ranging from 0 to IV denote the various stages of colon cancer, with the lowest locations characterizing cancer restricted to the lining of the colon’s interior. By stage IV, the tumor is thought to be progressed and to have metastasized (spread to other parts of the body).

Specific therapies may be more effective depending on your unique circumstances, including the location, stage, and other health issues affecting you. Typically, surgery is used to remove cancer from the colon as part of treatment. Also suggested therapies include chemotherapy and radiation therapy—colonoscopy-related polyp removal (polypectomy). During a colonoscopy, your doctor might be able to remove your cancer if it is small, localized, entirely contained within a polyp, and in an extremely early stage.

Mucosal resection is done endoscopically. A treatment known as endoscopic mucosal resection may be used during colonoscopy to remove larger polyps. This operation involves removing the polyp plus a tiny portion of the colon’s inner lining.