Tests for Bowel Cancer

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers, along with lung cancer and breast cancer. Bowel cancer affects either the colon or the rectum. These are often grouped together because symptoms and treatments for both cancers are generally the same, as the rectum is just an extension of the large intestine. Bowel cancer is caused by the formation of polyps inside the small and large intestine that can eventually turn cancerous. Tests are available to identify if you are suffering from bowel cancer.

Rectal Exam

• The first test the doctor will do to test whether you have bowel cancer is a rectal examination. The rectal examination consists of the doctor inserting a lubricated gloved finger into your rectum to feel for irregularities. The doctor will feel for any abnormalities, such as bumps or tumors, and look for bleeding in the area. Rectal tumors bleed at times, and this could be a sign of a tumor growing in your rectum or your colon.

Colonoscopy

• A colonoscopy is a specially designed test that allows the doctor to carefully examine the inside of your colon with a special flexible telescope. This will give the doctor an excellent view of your rectum, your colon and your lower bowel. If the doctor feels it is necessary, he can also take a small biopsy, which is a small piece of tissue taken from the sample area, to examine in the laboratory. The patient is given anesthetics during a colonoscopy.

Double-Contrast Barium Enema

• A less invasive alternative to a colonoscopy is a test known as a double-contrast barium enema. This test consists of special dye, made from a barium compound, being inserted directly into the rectum for an examination through an X-ray machine. The patient will be turned around and tilted up on the X-ray table to ensure that the barium dye spreads evenly through the colon. Through the X-ray, the inside of the colon becomes visible to the doctor, where he can look for abnormalities or tumors. The only drawback is that the doctor can't remove any polyps for further examination.

Proctoscopy

• A proctoscopy is much like a colonoscopy but uses a different type of scope to examine the bowel. A proctoscope is shorter than the telescope used in a colonoscopy. The patient is usually awake during the proctoscopy. The doctor can also take a small biopsy using the proctoscopy.

Ultrasound

• Ultrasounds are commonly administered to patients who are suspected of having bowel cancer. An ultrasound is a sophisticated test that uses high-frequency sound waves as a method of viewing the colon and intestines. It works by reflecting these high-frequency sound waves off the soft tissue in your intestines to form an image on a television monitor.

Blood Test

• A blood test might also be administered to assist in the investigation of bowel cancer. Oftentimes, blood tests can pick up on signs or so-called "tumor markers" which are chemicals contained in the blood that have a tendency to increase if there is an active form of cancer in the body. The blood test can also test for liver enzymes that may have been damaged if the cancer has already spread to the liver.

Sigmoidoscopy

• A sigmoidoscopy is an important procedure that enables the physician to look deeper inside the large intestine, through the last part of the colon, called the sigmoid colon. This procedure has many similarities to a colonoscopy, except the sigmoidoscopy is concentrated solely on the sigmoid colon. During this procedure a short, flexible tube is inserted through your anus and slowly guided up to your colon. This scope will transmit images while the test is taking place to examine the inside of the colon for inflammation, bleeding, ulcers or abnormal growths. This scope differs from the colonoscopy scope and the protoscope because it is able to blow air into the colon, slightly inflating it and helping the doctor get a better view.