These take-home tests detect blood hidden in small samples of stool. Screening sigmoidoscopy every five years. Physicians examine the rectum and lower colon for polyps and other abnormalities through a thin device called a flexible sigmoidoscope. Screening that includes a combination of FOBT and an examination with a flexible sigmoidoscope. This dual approach searches for hidden blood as well as for polyps.
Physicians use an x-ray machine to examine the lower digestive tract for abnormalities.
A colonoscopy permits visualization of the entire colon directly, detection and removal of polyps, and biopsy of cancers throughout the colon, offered every 10 years. DCBE with flexible sigmoidoscopy is an alternative to colonoscopy. These individuals should be offered the same options as average-risk people but beginning at 40 years of age. If the close relative was diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 55 or with an adenomatous polyp before age 60, special efforts should be made to assure that screening takes place. These individuals should be offered an examination of the entire colon every one to two years, preferably colonoscopy, starting between the ages of 20 and 30, and every year after age 40.