Most cases of colon cancer in my locality are diagnosed in advanced stages due to
- Lack of doctors' training in screening for colorectal cancer.
- The colon and rectum are not accessible, noninvasive, commonly used abdominal ultrasonography.
- Due to the anatomical design of the colon (hollow nature), it can withstand growing tumors without any symptoms.
- Most patients, nearly all patients, refused colonoscopy as an investigation tool. They do it too late and only after the mass is large enough to be palpated during the abdominal examination or after abdominal computed tomography and only for biopsy purposes to check for the type of malignancy.
- Lack of knowledge in the community that some types of colorectal cancers are inherited.
- Even in abdominal pain or bleeding per rectum, patients prefer to take medications that alleviate their symptoms, and if there is an improvement, they do not proceed to other investigations.
In my opinion, colonoscopy as a tool for diagnosis and screening is the problem due to negative attitudes regarding its use.
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