Colon and Rectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is

• the 3rd most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada

• the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in Canadian men

• the 3rd leading cause of cancer death in Canadian women

Colorectal Cancer Screening

It is recommended that all Albertans 50-74 years of age who are healthy enough and able should have regular screening for colorectal cancer. The main screening test is called a FIT (fecal immunochemical test) which works to detect microscopic pieces of blood cells in the stool that would otherwise go undetected to the naked eye. Microscopic blood in the stool can be a warning sign of polyps or colorectal cancer. A positive FIT should be followed up with a colonoscopy in a timely fashion.

Colon and rectal cancer, also called colorectal cancer or CRC for short, are cancers of the colon and rectum (also called the large intestine or large bowel) that develop from abnormal cells lining the large intestine.

Symptoms of colorectal cancer can include bleeding from the bowels or blood in your bowel movements, a change in the pattern of your bowels, thin bowel movements, abdominal or pelvic pain or cramping after eating, unintended weight loss, low blood counts, or there might be no symptoms at all.

We screen or look for colorectal cancer using a stool test called FIT (fecal immunochemical test) which looks for microscopic molecules from human blood cells in the stool. In this way we can catch bleeding from the bowel that is undetectable to the naked eye. A positive FIT should be followed up with a colonoscopy, a direct examination by high definition flexible video camera of the colon.