Failure to Diagnose Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer. There are about 150,000 new cases diagnosed for each year. Like most of the cancers, early detection and treatment is the key to survival. Colorectal cancer could usually be successfully treated when it is caught before it spreads beyond the wall of the intestine.

Five year survival rates for colorectal cancer are lower than 10% if the cancer is not discovered until it has spread to other organs or tissue elsewhere in the body, but are better than 90% when the cancer is discovered early, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The fecal occult blood test is a simple, non-invasive test which is often performed to determine if further testing for colorectal cancer might be needed.

A colonoscopy is a primary test used to screen for the cancer. If you have a family history which indicates that you are at risk for developing colorectal cancer, your doctor should recommend that you begin having colonoscopies at 21 years old, and have one every one to two years. If you are not at an elevated risk for the disease, you should begin colonoscopy screening by the time you reach 50.

Your doctor might too wish to perform a fecal immunochemical test, and a visual inspection of the rectum with a sigmoidoscopy.