Have you ever been asked by your doctor to collect a sample of your bowel movement or what they call a stool test? Most patients would be disgusted and even exclaim “yuck” to this kind of test. Doctors call it to having a high yuck factor without getting too technical about it. The stool test is one tried method of detecting colon cancer and at which point help prevent it from developing or increasing the risk. Different organizations including the American Cancer Society recommends various type of tests in determining colon cancer but the stool test have been proven to be the most effective but is not mostly appreciated by patients.

Fecal Occult Blood Test or FOBT

Fecal is another term for stool and Occult Blood refers to the hidden blood hence the term Fecal Occult Blood Test. FOBT has been the longest stool test with the best scientific evidence work. This test is done by looking at the stool’s microscopic blood amounts.

To understand why this test has to be taken, one must be aware how colon cancer starts. The disease starts first as a polyp or a non-cancerous growth. Although not all polyps develop as a cancer, those that progress as one usually takes years in its transformation. Some polyps and most cancers bleed and the amount usually are insignificant which becomes difficult to be seen by the naked eye when it becomes mixed with the stool. To be able to check this, the patient must collect only a small amount of the bowel movement which will be sent to the laboratory for examination. The fecal will be subjected to a chemical reaction that will reveal whether the stool contains blood or none.

Positive FOBT

If the FOBT result is positive it doesn’t automatically follow that you have colon cancer. It may be a result from other common stomach or bowel problems that are non-cancerous such as haemorrhoids, diverticulosis, or ulcers. However you must never assume that there might be a possibility of having a colon cancer which is why you need to undergo a colonoscopy just to make sure the real problem.

Bear in mind that collecting a small amount of “yuck” can help save lives. So if the doctor asks you to have a stool test, do not think about the “yuck”, think about saving your life.