Gastroenterologist performing a colonoscopy on a patient.
Always better to be early than too late, whether you be arriving at a party early or lining up for Boxing Day sale. However, this is especially the case with most cancers. When it is diagnosed as the final stages, it may be too late for action to take place. Thankfully, screening for bowel cancer has become a major role in detecting early for bowel cancer patients.
Of the cases picked up by bowel screening, 37% were caught in the early stage while 8% were already in the advanced stage. This compares to 40% of bowel cancers diagnosed as an emergency being stage four and 22% of bowel cancers in stage four by the time the doctors diagnosed them.
Here, we see a clip of a colon screening done on a patient. The video highlights three main screening options that are available to patients depending on frequency, cost, and invasiveness: fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy. All three have their own advantages and disadvantages in screening for cancer. However, out of the three, colonoscopy is considered the best and most effective method for detection of polyps.
Diagnosis at an early stage means better chances of survival due to faster and more effective treatment before the cancer may spread to other areas of the body.
In the case of targeting bowel cancer and in general, all types of cancers, understanding the impacts of technology and advancement can help us manage our resources more efficiently in hopes of saving more lives before it gets too late.
Posted on January 27, 2016 by Lorraine Yu
