Is a palpable lump in the side a symptom of colon cancer? Or is it only found as a polyp inside and can not be felt?
A palpable lump in the abdomen can be a symptom of colorectal cancer, but it is more commonly a symptom of other conditions. Most colon cancers cannot be felt from the outside with your hand. Your doctor would be able to examine you and give you a more personalized opinion. A polyp inside the colon cannot be felt from the outside. Polyps are found by looking inside the colon with various procedures: a sigmoidoscopy, which only looks at a portion of the colon; a colonoscopy, which can look at the whole colon; or a virtual colonoscopy or CT colonography, which is an X-ray technique.
A palpable lump in the abdomen can be a symptom of colon cancer, but it could also be a symptom of other conditions. Your doctor would be able to examine you and give you a more personal opinion, ordering testing as appropriate to determine the cause of a lump. A polyp inside the colon can not be felt from the outside. Polyps are found by looking inside the colon with various procedures: a sigmoidoscopy (which only looks at a portion of the colon) or colonoscopy (which can look at the whole colon); a Virtual Colonoscopy is an x-ray technique as with a barium enema. Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard test for this condition.
A palpable lump in the abdomen can be a symptom of colon cancer, but it could also be a symptom of other conditions. Your doctor would be able to examine you and give you a more personal opinion, ordering testing as appropriate to determine the cause of a lump. A polyp inside the colon can not be felt from the outside. Polyps are found by looking inside the colon with various procedures: a sigmoidoscopy (which only looks at a portion of the colon) or colonoscopy (which can look at the whole colon); a virtual colonoscopy is an X-ray technique with a barium enema. Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard test for this condition.
