ON THIS PAGE: You will find a list of common tests, procedures, and scans that doctors use to find the cause of a medical problem. Use the menu to see other pages.
Doctors use many tests to find, or diagnose, cancer. They do tests to learn whether cancer has spread to a different part of the body from where it started. If the cancer has spread, it is called metastasis. Doctors may also do tests to learn which treatments could work best.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find a list of common tests, procedures, and scans that doctors use to find the cause of a medical problem. Use the menu to see other pages.
Doctors use many tests to find, or diagnose, cancer. They do tests to learn if cancer has spread to another part of the body from where it started. If the cancer has spread, it is called metastasis. Doctors may do tests to learn which treatments could work best.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find a list of common tests, procedures, and scans that doctors use to find the cause of a medical problem. Use the menu to see other pages.
Doctors use many tests to find, or diagnose, cancer. They also do tests to learn if cancer has spread to another part of the body from where it started. If the cancer has spread, it is called metastasis. Doctors may also do tests to learn which treatments could work best.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find some basic information about this disease and the parts of the body it may affect. This is the first page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Anal Cancer. Use the menu to see other pages. Think of that menu as a roadmap for this entire guide.
Anal cancer begins in the anus. The anus is part of the body's gastrointestinal tract, also called the digestive system. It is the opening at the end of the large intestine, below the rectum, where bowel movements leave the body.
El estreñimiento ocurre cuando las heces son menos frecuentes, dolorosas o secas y difíciles de evacuar. El estreñimiento comienza cuando el cuerpo absorbe más agua o indica a los alimentos a desplazarse más lentamente por los intestinos. Es un síntoma frecuente, pero controlable, en las personas con cáncer.
Además de no poder evacuar el intestino, las personas con estreñimiento pueden experimentar los siguientes síntomas:
Dolor y calambres
Inflamación en el abdomen
Pérdida del apetito
Some tests can help find cancer before signs or symptoms appear. This is called cancer screening.
The main goals of cancer screening are:
Reduce the number of people who die from the disease
Prevent cancer deaths altogether
Reduce the number of people who develop the disease
Even if you do not smoke, you may be exposed to secondhand smoke. This type of smoke can come from:
Someone breathing out smoke while smoking
A burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe
You may also hear secondhand smoke called passive or involuntary smoke, tobacco smoke pollution, or environmental tobacco smoke.
There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief moments around secondhand smoke can harm a person’s health. And the risk of health problems is greater with more exposure.
Cancer during pregnancy is uncommon. Cancer itself rarely affects the growing fetus (unborn baby). When it does happen, cancer during pregnancy can be more complex to diagnose and treat. This is because tests to diagnose cancer and treatments can affect the fetus, so each step in your medical care will be done carefully. It is important to work with a health care team that has experience treating cancer in pregnancy. Learn more about finding an oncologist.
Constipation happens when stools (feces) become less frequent, painful, or dry and difficult to pass. Constipation starts when the body absorbs more water or food moves through the bowels more slowly. It is a common symptom for people with cancer. There are treatments available to help relieve constipation and make patients more comfortable when passing stools.
