Boulder Q: How does a doctor detect digestive cancers?
Symptoms are important: unexplained weight loss, pain, altered bowel function, and so on. A routine colonoscopy every 5 years, more often if there is family history or polyps have been found. If there is a high degree of suspicion, a blood test for CEA is done (it has false positives, like CA125, so its reserved for when there is other evidence for a problem). Finally, barium meals or enemas, CAT scans, MRI, and exploratory surgery may be required.
