Anesthesia is medicine that keeps you from feeling pain during certain medical procedures. There are several different types of anesthesia. The type you receive depends on the procedure and your general health.

A digital rectal exam (DRE) is a test that examines a person's lower rectum, pelvis, and lower belly. This test can help your doctor check for cancer and other health problems, including:

• Prostate cancer in men

• An abnormal mass in the anus or rectum

Anxiety is a common emotion. Most people feel anxious from time to time. Feeling anxious may be described as feeling nervous, on edge, or worried. These are emotions that help us respond to a problem or threat. Cancer often brings more anxiety. If you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed with cancer or are going through cancer treatment, anxiety is an expected reaction.

Grief is a normal response to the loss of a brother or sister. But adult siblings are sometimes called "forgotten mourners" because their grief is often overshadowed by the grief of other family members, such as the person’s parents, spouse, or children.

Regardless of the type of relationship you had with your sibling, you have the right to grieve. Family members and friends may not understand the role your sibling played in your life. So it is important to communicate to them that you need their support. 

A sibling’s death can have many effects on a person, such as:

It is normal to feel angry after a cancer diagnosis. The feeling may come up when cancer is found, or develop any time during treatment and survivorship.

You may feel angry about:

• The difficulty and uncertainty of having cancer

• How cancer and treatment have changed your routine or lifestyle

• What having cancer will mean for you and your family, including different types of losses cancer can bring

Children and teenagers express their grief in a variety of ways. Some may be sad and verbalize the loss like many adults. Depending on their ages, however, they may show sadness only sometimes and for short periods. Children may complain of physical discomfort, such as stomachaches or headaches. Or they may express anxiety or distress about other challenges, such as school or sports.

A sigmoidoscopy is a test that looks at the rectum and lower part of the large intestine. "Colon" is the medical term for the large intestine, and the sigmoid colon is the lower part. The sigmoid colon ends in the rectum. Waste collects in the rectum and leaves your body when you have a bowel movement.

The drawing below shows the different parts of the colon and rectum.