explanations of colonoscopy

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Selaki
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:46 am

explanations of colonoscopy

Postby Selaki » Sat Feb 17, 2018 2:50 pm

My 39 year old son had his first colonoscopy yesterday, and these are the results:
"A sub-mucosal, infiltrative, ulcerated and fungating non-bleeding 8 cm mass of malignant appearance and was found in the distal rectum at a distance between 8cm and
16 cm from the anus

He had been bleeding and frequent diahrrea for a couple months. He has asked me to help research. He has to wait until next Friday for a CT scan because of needing insurance approval.

It's hard to research - I've googled all the words above - used them in sentences - and just really need simple terminology. Will someone please explain this?

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mypinkheaven
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Re: explanations of colonoscopy

Postby mypinkheaven » Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:59 pm

Selaki wrote:My 39 year old son had his first colonoscopy yesterday, and these are the results:
"A sub-mucosal, infiltrative, ulcerated and fungating non-bleeding 8 cm mass of malignant appearance and was found in the distal rectum at a distance between 8cm and
16 cm from the anus

He had been bleeding and frequent diahrrea for a couple months. He has asked me to help research. He has to wait until next Friday for a CT scan because of needing insurance approval.

It's hard to research - I've googled all the words above - used them in sentences - and just really need simple terminology. Will someone please explain this?


From what I understand, there is a growth that is about 3 inches. It is just under the thin mucus membrane (submucosal) of the rectum and has grown into the surrounding tissue (infiltrative). It seems that ulcerated and fungating mean essentially the same thing - the growth has broken through the mucus membrane. The growth is located in the rectum about 6" from the anus and extends 6" away from that point.

Was a biopsy taken? The CT scan will show what couldn't be seen during the colonoscopy - how far the growth extends into the tissue outside the rectum.

I didn't have rectal cancer, so I can't give you any personal experience. You can do a search of this forum from the home page. Put "rectal cancer" or even just "rectal" into the search box. You'll come up with many posts that will give you more information on treatments - chemo, radiation etc.

People on this forum are very good about helping others.

I wish you the best of luck.
MSS, KRAS Wild NRAS Mutated
9/2012 CRC IIB Lft Colectomy 0 lymph nodes 0 Chemo
10/2013 CT clear
11/15 CEA 2.7 to 4.6
11/15 Spread to uterus. Hysterectomy
2/16 Pelvic radiation 25, brachytherapy 3
4/16 - 6/16 Xeloda
6/16 CT Several lung nodules 5 mm
8/16 CT Nodules still present. Most stable. Some growth
11/16 Transfer to UCSD Moores
12/16 Folfox + Avastin failed
2/17 Folfiri + Erbitux
8/17 5FU+Erbitux No 5FU bolus
7/18 Spread to vagina
6/18 Folfiri + Avastin + Trametinib
6/18 CEA dropping

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O Stoma Mia
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Location: On vacation. Off-line for now.

Re: explanations of colonoscopy

Postby O Stoma Mia » Sun Feb 18, 2018 12:45 am

Image

The average colon is about 1.5 m long. Lengths of the various parts are:

* Ascending colon: 25 cm
* Transverse colon: 45 cm
* Descending colon: 15 cm
* Sigmoid colon: 40 cm
* Rectum: 12 cm
* Anal canal: 5 cm

The splenic flexure is thus at around 72 cm from the anal verge, and the hepatic flexure at around 117 cm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXPLANATION
In your son's case, the mass is 8 cm long, so it covers about 2/3 of the rectum. Since the anal canal is about 5 cm long, the lower part of the mass is about 3 cm from the bottom of the rectum, i.e., very close to the anal sphincter.

Whether the mass is malignant or not, the mass (and most of the rectum) will probably have to be removed by surgery, and for this you will need to have the very best colorectal surgeon you can find.

If you are in the US you can search for a Board Certified colorectal surgeon by using the following instructions:

  • Searching for a Board Certified colorectal surgeon - For colorectal surgery, it is important to have a surgeon who is Board-Certified to do this type of surgery. One thing you could do at this point is to check for certified colorectal surgeons in your area. The link to do that is here: Is My Doctor Board-Certified?. Some of the reasons why this is so important are discussed in this prior post by weisssoccermom: Board-certified colorectal surgeons.


Right now, this is the most important thing to think about. The meaning of the various technical terms in the report can be dealt with later on.


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