Colon Cancer Screening

Barium enema is a good test to screen for colon cancer. Some experts believe that the chance of detecting colon cancer can be increased by combining barium enema with flexible sigmoidoscopy or stool cards (fecal occult blood tests).

After a normal barium enema, you can wait five years before your next colon cancer screening test. At that point, you can choose between several different tests, including

• barium enema, with or without flexible sigmoidoscopy

• flexible sigmoidoscopy alone

• stool cards(fecal occult blood tests)

• colonoscopy

• computed tomography, also called "virtual" colonoscopy.