Cancer

Colorectal Cancer - What You Need to Know

For both men and women, colorectal cancer is the third deadliest cancer there is. This is why it's so important to get screened for it. As with all cancers, the earlier it's found, the easier it is to fight off. So you need to know what to look for and what doctors do to screen for colorectal cancer. Here are the common signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer and the screening methods used to determine if you have it.

Signs and Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer

If you have any of these symptoms you should see your doctor.

* Constipation, diarrhea, or any change to the stool that lasts for more than a few days
* Rectal bleeding or blood in the stool
* Feeling like you have to have a bowel movement, but when you do go you are not feeling relieved
* Abdominal pain or cramping that is persistent. Gas or pain of any kind that doesn't go away
* Weakness and fatigue
* Weight loss when you weren't trying to lose weight

These symptoms can generally be explained away as other things such as a virus, infection, hemorrhoids, and inflammatory bowel disease. It's important to see your doctor if these issues persist so these things can be ruled out.

There are often no early symptoms of colorectal cancer. Signs and symptoms may vary when it develops depending on where in the colon the cancer is located. You should be more concerned if you are over the age of 50 or have a family history.

Tests for Colorectal Cancer

If you present with any of the above symptoms, then your doctor will take a complete family history. He or she will feel your belly to see if he feels any masses. He might order some blood tests to see what exactly is going on, like a CBC (Complete Blood Count) to check for anemia, liver enzymes to check your liver function because colorectal cancer can spread to your liver, and tumor markers in someone who already has colorectal cancer or has had it.

If symptoms or the results of these tests suggests cancer, then further testing is recommended. This is usually a colonoscopy, but sometimes a sigmoidoscopy or an imaging test that uses a barium enema and a lower GI series. This helps doctors screen for polyps.

During a colonoscopy, if colorectal cancer is suspected the doctor will take a biopsy which is just a small piece of tissue that is removed for further examination under the microscope. In very rare cases, part of the colon may need to be surgically removed (a part less often used) to make the diagnosis.

Additionally, scans such as a CT scan might be performed. This is used more often to see if colon cancer has spread to other organs like the liver. It gives a detailed image of the soft tissues of the body.

An ultrasound might be performed to try to see tumors, but really all this would show is tumors in the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. It cannot detect tumors in the colon. For that your doctor might recommend an endorectal ultrasound where a special transducer is inserted into the rectum. This way the doctor can see deep into the rectal wall to see where the cancer has spread, if at all, and it can look at the lymph nodes and nearby organs.

If you don't have any symptoms of colorectal cancer but are of a certain age or have a family history, there are screening tests that can be done. Tests that find both colorectal polyps and cancer are perfect. This way if polyps are found they can be removed during the screening to help prevent them from turning into cancer. For less invasive screening, tests that check the stool can be used. However, this doesn't find polyps.  

The colonoscopy is the most common test performed to screen for polyps and cancer. However, the CT scan and the barium enema are used to screen for polyps and cancer as well.

To screen just for cancer, tests like the Fecal Occult Blood test is used. Fecal matter is screened for the occult blood which cannot be seen with the naked eye. If there is blood in the stool, a colonoscopy would need to be performed to determine where exactly the bleeding is coming from.


Check with your doctor to see what he recommends based on your symptoms or lack thereof and your family history. While colorectal cancer is the third leading deadly cancer, the development of tests and screenings has been increasing the survival rate.

Cervical Cancer – What You Need to Know

Cervical cancer is one of those cancers that only women get. You will want to be screened to make sure you don’t have it. Here, you will learn about some of those screening methods and what to expect. Learn about what cervical cancer is, ways to help prevent yourself from getting it and what the survival rate of it is if you do get it.

What Is Cervical Cancer?The cervix is the lower part of the uterus. Most cervical cancers begin in the cells that line the cervix. The normal cells of the cervix slowly develop into precancerous cells. It takes time for the precancerous cells to turn into cancerous cells, and this is why it’s so important to get regular screenings.

Screening for Cervical Cancer

There are two tests which are performed to screen for cervical cancer – a Pap smear and an HPV test. The Pap smear tests for precancerous cells. The HPV test looks for the human papillomavirus which can lead to cancer.

The Pap test is recommended for women ages 21-65. It is done right in your doctor or gynecologist’s office. A speculum (a metal or plastic instrument) is placed inside the vagina and used to widen it and then a few swabs are taken and tested in a lab to make sure they are not abnormal.

The HPV test is done similarly, but the lab will test for the human papillomavirus.

The new recommendations from the American College of Gynecology (ACOG) is to have a Pap smear performed every three years starting at the age of 21. If you are at higher risk, meaning you have had precancerous cells in a prior test, then your doctor will recommend more frequent screenings. The Pap test is the most accurate screening test there is for cervical cancer. It does not detect any other gynecological cancers, though, so for any abnormal symptoms you should see your doctor.Aside from regular screenings, you want to make sure you’re doing all you can to prevent yourself from getting cervical cancer.

How to Prevent Cervical Cancer

Getting screened is the most important thing you can do in preventing cervical cancer. However, beyond that there are some other things you can do as well. Since HPV can cause cervical cancer, getting the HPV vaccine will help prevent you from getting cervical cancer. Beyond that, eating right, not smoking, not having lots of sexual partners and practicing safe sex (using condoms) will help prevent you from getting cervical cancer.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. And while HPV can live on both the male and female genitalia in areas which are not protected by a condom, using a condom has been shown to lower the chances of transmitting HPV and getting cervical cancer. All of these steps will help prevent you from getting cervical cancer.

Getting Cervical CancerIn most instances it takes a few years for precancerous cells to turn into cancer cells, and most times that doesn’t even happen. This is why it’s important to have regular screenings so you can catch the cancer early, because that’s always your best chance.

There are many factors which will weigh in on your chances of survival with cervical cancer. These include:

* Type of cancer
* Stage of cancer
* Age and overall health
* If the cancer comes back after treatment

The further the cancer spreads outside of the cervix, the lower the chances of survival. So again, this is why screening is so very important to catch it early. It is completely reasonable to assume that you will survive five years or more after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Cancer – The Most Common Types Found in Women

Men and women are different on so many levels. That includes the types of cancers they can get. There are certain cancers only men get and there are certain cancers only women get. There are certain cancers which plague women more than men and vice versa. It’s important to know which cancers you should be concerned about.

Cancers Only Women GetThis is probably pretty obvious. The cancers that only women get are gynecological cancers – which of course are cancers which start in places like the cervix, uterus, vagina, vulva, ovaries, and sometimes the fallopian tubes (very rare). It goes without saying that these cancers are only found in women because women are the only ones with these parts.

And while you might think only women get breast cancer, this is not the case. Men have breast tissue as well and can develop breast cancer. So the only cancers women get that men can’t get are gynecological cancers of the reproductive organs.

Cancers That Are Most Prevalent in Women

There are some cancers which strike women very fiercely. The most common types of cancers that really affect women are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer women get aside from skin cancer, but it’s followed closely by lung cancer and then colorectal cancer.

However, breast cancer has a better survival rate amongst women than lung cancer does. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women who are white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Indian/Alaska Native women.

Lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women. The number one most fatal cancer for Hispanic women is breast cancer. And the third leading cause of cancer deaths among all women, no matter what nationality, is colorectal cancer.Surely the great screening and early detection techniques we have to screen for breast cancer is why the survival rate is higher. Caucasian women have the best survival chance when it comes to breast cancer. African-American women and Hispanic women are at a greater risk of succumbing to breast cancer than Caucasian women.

Low income families are more at risk from breast cancer. This likely has to do with the limited access they might have to screenings like mammograms. This is why it’s so important to support breast cancer non-profits. With the survival rate increasing exponentially with early detection, providing necessary early screenings to low income family is of the utmost importance.

Across the board (male or female), lung cancer remains the top killing cancer amongst patients. Oddly enough it’s the easiest to prevent getting. It is estimated that 87%-90% of all lung cancer deaths are related to smoking. It seems simply enough – if you stop smoking, you decrease your chances of dying from lung cancer.

Because lung cancer doesn’t have a reliable early detection test like breast cancer does, it’s hard to diagnose early. This is why more people die of lung cancer; once you begin showing signs you are already so far into the progression of the disease that saving you from lung cancer is much more difficult.Finally colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women. This appears to be on the decline, though. With better testing, polyps are being found and diagnosed early, leading to earlier treatment. Plus the treatment for colorectal cancer has improved, so the survival rate from this type of cancer is on the rise.

These are the kind of cancers that plague women the most and what you have to watch out for. Remember, early detection is key in increasing your survival rate. So don’t blow off that mammogram or colonoscopy. A few minutes of discomfort just might save your life.