scared mommy

[simsim]

Hi everybody,
My husband is 40 years old, he is the love of my life and we have a 20 month old daughter as a symbol of our love. My husband is fit, working out and healthy looking. He had a colonostomy that i insisted on because his mom died of colon cancer at 74.
The doctor said he found a polyp that had cancerous cells in it and it will recommend him to a specialist. I am shoked...scared and dont know how to react to this. I dont know much about cancer...I just know that we will fight back at any cost.
Can anyone tell me if a cancerous polyp is actually considered cancer?And what stage? They removed it during colonoscopy....my husband never had symptoms....
I read some of the testimonials here and I would like to tell everybody that I admire each and one of you outhere...kepp looking up where miracles come from!

[missjv]

hi,
well i was diagnosed stage 4 colon cancer from a polyp that was 1 1/2 mm small, no vascular invasion no cancerous lymphnodes yet i had 3 small spots on my liver. docs told me i had a 4% chance of having stage 4 colon cancer from a stupid polyp but here i am in the 4% but i had liver surgery am going through chemo and i am currently cancer free and feeling good. im sure your husband is fine but please do follow up checks such as bloodwork and cat scans as a precaution in the future. they weren't even going to give me a scan until i demanded one and luckily my spots were found on the liver so mention that to your husbands doc and cover your butts get whatever testing done that you can. good luck!


missjv

[NICK THE BRIT]

Hello there,

Im in the polyp club aswell. 1 cancerous, led to stage 3a. At the age of 31, and my beautiful little boy just 6 months old. 8 months down the line, ive had my op and chemo, and am currently clean and feeling great. If it def is cancer, then at first it will take time to absorb it all in. Yes it is a massive shock. But after that you will find an inner strength (both of you) and come out fighting to beat the damn thing!

Regards to you both
Nick

[wdt]

I can honestly say that I know exactly how you feel right now. My husband, who just had his 44th birthday this month, was diagnosed recently. A cancerous polyp is cancer, but what's left to be determined is the level of invasion (this is what they mean by stage). The pathologist will look at it under the microscope to determine if the cancer was completely contained in the polyp itself, or if it had grown into the wall of the intestine. This is also what will determine the extent of surgery that might be needed. If the cancer cells were completely contained in the polyp and they got the entire polyp out during the colonoscopy, he may not need any surgery, or only very minimal surgery. However, if it has grown into the intestine wall (beyond the polyp), the surgery could be more extensive. These are things that the specialist "should" explain to you. If he/she does not, you need to ask!!!

Please go to the american cancer society (ACS) website and read all about colorectal cancer. Educate yourself BEFORE you go to the specialist so that you can understand what they are telling you and you can ask questions. (However, I must warn you...when you look at the ACS information don't dwell on the statistics portion. Especially now when you really don't know the exact situation. Everyone here will tell you that they don't give a $%*& about statistics).

Right now, you don't know anything except that he had a cancerous polyp. That is a scary place to be. Hopefully you will know more once you see the specialist. Once you have the appointment, get back on this message board and start asking questions that are specific to your husband's circumstance. Everyone will be there for you. In the mean time, hange in there. Believe me, the NOT knowing is so hard. You can't fight until you know your enemy - if you know what I mean. Have faith and God Bless. - - wdt

[LA8]

Hi SimSim. Don't forget about the positive aspects of your story - the fact that you made him get the colonoscopy has saved you an awful lot of suffering as it was caught early giving you an excellent chance of nipping it in the bud! There are alot of us out here that had full blown tumours by the time we had been checked out! Best of luck to both of you!

[missjv]

hi wdt,
i read your post and i had a polyp that was cancerous, very small and according to 2 different pathology centers cancer was confined to tip of polyp, no cancer on polyp stalk, no cancer in margin where polyp was removed. well long story short i was stage 4, the cancer cells traveled through hepatic artery to liver thats the only thing anyone can come up with i had no lymphnode invasion either, cea of 2, and i had 3 small lesions on liver so a polyp can cause alot of damage. i went ahead and had that part of my colon removed during liver surgery and had all lymphnodes in area removed and everything was negative thank god. i just hope if sims husband is told that it was removed by polypectomy and everything is clear that they ask for a cea and cat scan just in case. i was told i was fine come back for another colonoscopy in 1 year. im so glad i demanded a cat scan cause if i did not i would have never known cancer was growing in my liver. i never had any symptoms of colon cancer and i did colonoscopy just for the hell of it because i had an uncle die of colon cancer and i was soon to be 40 so after canceling the appt 4 times in 6 months i finally went and did it. im not trying to contradict what you said in your post i just wanted you to know that this thing although rare can happen and i wasn't trying to scare sim but i wanted her to be aware.

missjv

[Ivanaplay2]

Hi simsim,

I am a male, now age 54. In December, 2005 I had a routine colonoscopy at the urging of my general practicioner. He had been telling me to have one each year at my annual checkup as soon as I hit age 50. They found 4 polyps, 2 rather small, and two rather large (golf-ball size), one of which was precancerous, and one of which was cancerous. Over the next month, I had numerous tests/blood work/cat scans/mri's to try and nail down how far along my cancer might be (Stage I to IV). Everything looked promising except a small spot on my liver that may have been a cyst, or may have been cancer. It turned out to be a cyst, probably there since birth.

I had a colon resection in January, 2006 and approximately 11 inches of my colon was removed. I was very lucky. My cancer was still at Stage I, and was completely contained in the polyp (which was removed during the initial colonoscopy). It had not penetrated the wall of my intestine at all. I needed no chemo, or major follow-up treatment. I had a temporary ileostomy which was reversed in early May, 2006. I was very happy to say good-bye to the ileostomy as we did not get along too well.

There were some complications during the initial surgery, and some problems after the reversal caused by excessive, recurring drainage and consequent slow healing of the incision. I returned to my work on June 15, 2006, (I am a house painter, which can get rather physical with a lot of bending and stretching, climbing ladders, etc.) and resumed my exercise (lap swimming) program a week after that. It took a while to build up my stamina and regain my strength, but I am now in good health once again. Had a followup colonoscopy a month ago, and everything looked pink and healthy, with no polyps.

I too was very scared after the first colonoscopy and the finding of the 4 polyps. Educate yourself by reading and visiting websites. This is an excellent resource right here! If you have questions, ask your doctors. There is no such thing as a stupid question, and your insurance company (or you) will be paying the doctors a lot of money, so don't feel like you are taking up their time with your questions.

I wish your husband and you the very best. You will find you have more friends than you ever knew you had as you travel the road ahead. Good night and good luck!