This allows the physician to look at the inside of the rectum and part of your colon for cancer or polyps. Your doctor inserts a colonoscope, a long, flexible, lighted tube about the size of a finger through the rectum into the colon. It is connected to a video camera and monitor so your physician can look closely at the full length of your colon. If a polyp is found, the doctor may remove it. Fluoroscopy and X-ray films are used to check for abnormalities.
Many people don t have symptoms until the cancer is quite advanced.
In the United States, men are at higher risk for colon cancer than women, and blacks are at higher risk than other racial groups. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease increase risk. If you are over 50 and haven t done so, talk to your physician about risk factors and recommended screenings. Some of the screening tests are uncomfortable but generally not painful.