Should I buy the fecal occult blood test kit for home use?
No, it is a bunch of crap. The test has been around for 50 years
and it measures trace amount of blood in your poop. It is very insensitive for detection of
colon cancer. There is a belief that colon cancer slowly bleeds and this
blood can be identified in feces. However, there are other disorders which are
more common than cancers that can cause bleeding in the stools-peptic ulcer
disease is the most common. The fecal stool test is a complete waste of money. In
addition, applying poop to a piece of paper with your finger and instilling a solution on it, is
not exactly thrilling.
The test does not tell you where the bleeding is coming from and
it can also be affected by certain foods (e.g. horse radish, broccoli, turnips,
vitamin C and medications like aspirin).
My best advice is if you are worried
about a polyp, go and see a doctor. You only need one colonoscopy at the age of
50. If that is clear, I doubt you will need another one. Unfortunately, doctors
have made colonoscopy a lucrative business by doing the procedure on anyone who
walks into their office. So if your first colonoscopy is negative, change your
diet and avoid the doctor. Any doctor who urges repeat colonoscopy every
several years, is a con artist.
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