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thomasdevos
10-04-2009, 11:19 PM
Sigmoidoscopy as a Reliable Medical Procedure in diagnosing colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is a fatal disease that requires immediate medical intervention. Statistics indicate that colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States each year. Although colorectal cancer predominantly affects older people, the disease can also affect young adults and even children. Oncologists sustain that early diagnosis of colorectal cancer plays a major role in overcoming the disease, such as rapid medical intervention considerably increases patients? life expectancy. Thank you in advance medical doctors can now rely on modern techniques for diagnosing colorectal cancers. The methods commonly used for revealing early signs of colorectal cancer are barium enema, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy.

Sigmoidoscopy is one of the most reliable procedures used in medical diagnosis of colorectal cancer at present. By means of sigmoidoscopy, oncologists are able to timely detect signs of physiological abnormalities in the colon.Sigmoidoscopy can be performed with either a stationary or a flexible scope, depending on the segments of the colon that require screening. However, due to the fact that rigid sigmoidoscopy provides limited visibility, doctors usually prefer using a flexible scope instead. In addition, flexible sigmoidoscopy is less likely to cause discomfort to patients. Flexible sigmoidoscopy is to use a field of 60 cm, which can easily detect cancerous colon polyps, tumors or adenomas situated in various regions of the large intestine.

Sigmoidoscopy is particularly recommended for patients who present no obvious symptoms of colon cancer. The procedure involves little risk and is well tolerated by most patients. Post-sigmoidoscopy symptoms are usually mild and disappear completely within hours or days. Such symptoms may include abdominal pain and bloating, internal discomfort and rarely suffered minor injuries rectum.

Although sigmoidoscopy is a simple procedure, it is important to note that it may not be appropriate for some patients. Sigmoidoscopy is not recommended for people who have undergone intestinal surgery, individuals suffering from acute peritonitis or those with acute diverticulitis. In some cases, the procedure may also be cons-indicated for people who have recently undergone abdominal surgery.

Before receiving an examination with sigmoidoscopy, patients are administered bisacodyl and magnesium citrate. Combined with enemas, these medications are used for the preparation of the large bowel for sigmoidoscopy. The treatment preparation for sigmoidoscopy is very important to increase the visibility inside the bowel. The current procedure is very fast and usually causes minimal discomfort to patients. The Post-sigmoidoscopy complications are also rare.

Corroborated by a screening colonoscopy and barium enemas, sigmoidoscopy is very effective in the footsteps of the activity in timely spotting malignant in the large intestine. Since it was introduced in the process of diagnosing colorectal cancer, patients sigmoidoscopy has considerably decreased? Mortality rate.

Reference Site:

colon cancer treatment (http://colon-cancer-treatment-cure.com)
www.nlm.nih.gov (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000262.htm)
en.wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal_cancer)
www.cancer.gov (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/colon-and-rectal)
medicinenet.com (http://www.medicinenet.com/colon_cancer/article.htm)