Some facts about
colon cancer...
cancer each year
each year than from breast or
prostate cancers
Asian people get colon cancer
year or a
flexible sigmoidoscopyevery five years, or both, can
decrease your risk of dying of
colon cancer
Screening for Colon
Cancer...
What you need to know
for people who have decided
to have a screening test
for colon cancer
If you would like to have
a stool test for blood:
for what to eat and what pills to take
for 3 days before the test. And
while you are doing the test.
as explained in the insert.
you have completed the cards.
year.
If you would like to have
a flexible sigmoidoscopy:
diet, but you do need to have a
special "preparation" before the
test. See insert sheet for more
instructions.
minutes.
do your usual activities that same
day.
Or you can choose to have both tests.
Some facts about
colon cancer...
cancer each year
each year than from breast or
prostate cancers
Asian people get colon cancer
year or a
flexible sigmoidoscopyevery five years, or both, can
decrease your risk of dying of
colon cancer
Screening for Colon
Cancer...
What you need to know
for people who think they may
want to have a screening test
for colon cancer, but still
have a few questions
Here are some differences between the two tests for you to consider:
How often to have the test:
year, while the
What to do before the test:
special diet, but you do need to have a special
preparation - usually a mild laxative and a small
enema.
specimens from 3 consecutive bowel movements, smear them on the cards and mail them back in.
tube into your rectum. You may have mild "gas
cramps," but no severe pain, and the test is over
in about 15 minutes.
Who should choose stool test for blood and who should choose flexible sigmoidoscopy?
dures might choose
flexiblesigmoidoscopy
. The advantage isthat you only need to do it every 5
years. The disadvantage is that you
have to make an appointment to have
the test done.
choose
stool test for blood. The ad-vantage is that you don't have to
make an appointment to have the
procedure, but can do it in your home.
The disadvantage is that you need to
be on a special diet and remember to
do it every year.
disadvantages of these tests may want to have them both.
Some facts about
colon cancer...
cancer each year
each year than from breast or
prostate cancers
Asian people get colon cancer
year or a
flexible sigmoidoscopyevery five years, or both, can
decrease your risk of dying of
colon cancer
Screening for Colon
Cancer...
What you need to know
for people who aren't ready to
decide to have a screening
test for colon cancer
It Really Works!
It’s reasonable to wonder whether screening for colon cancer is a good
idea. The tests have been around for a while, but it was only in the last few
years that we discovered how good they are!
Now all doctors
agree that:
Stool test for blood and flexible sigmoidoscopy really do decrease your risk of dying of colon cancer. They're good tests to have!
And the tests are easier
than they first seem.
It first sounds like these tests are
hard to do. But more and more people
are having the tests, and they say that
stool test for blood and flexible sigmoidoscopy are really easy - notnearly as bad as they first seemed.
We expect that you’ll hear more
about colon cancer and these two tests
in the future. We hope you’ll talk to your doctor about them, and decide that screening for colon cancer is a good
idea after all.