Hi Everyone,
I have been lurking on this site since June of 2017 when my body presented worrying symptoms, mainly blood in stool. At the time I was a father to a wonderful 2 year old boy with another baby (gender unknown at the time) on the way. I figured rather than take the risk I would make an appointment to get myself checked for the sake of my children. I am from a small town in Eastern Canada and went to a local doctor that I have seen before, he told me it was most likely nothing to be concerned with BUT he does not take risks when there is blood in the stool so he schedule an appointment with a well respected GI. I had to wait some time to meet with the GI, during that time our second child was born, a healthy baby boy. During my first meeting with the GI, he did not show immediate concern given my age but he also stated the only way we will know for sure is to start with a sigmoid scope given the characteristics of the blood in/on my stool. Things got real on the day of my scope but other than the awful prep (enema) the procedure was nothing to worry about. Now the reason I decided to post today, when I awoke from the procedure the doctor was waiting to talk to me, he had found and removed a "large" polyp that needed to be sent for pathology, at that moment my life crashed (I apologize to those who have had to deal with a full CRC diagnosis) but my mind when straight to my very young children and the thought of me not being there for them.....the procedure took place right before Christmas holiday so I had to wait extra long for the pathology report (5 weeks) and as I am sure many of you have experienced, it is tough to keep a smiling face while you deal with personal issues. My pathology report came back and I have since had a full colonoscopy to clear the remainder of my colon. I wanted to present my report and introduce myself to the forum as I intend on sticking around and updating the group on my progress over the years while hopefully getting some insight and support from all the wonderful people here. If you have the time and are willing to review my below pathology report I would love feedback on whether or not there are any "watch outs" or cause for concern that I am not aware of. Another topic I am interested in, alcohol consumption after having a polyp removed, is it dangerous/selfish to continue drinking given the polyp was not malignant. Again I apologize if this type of post seems selfish, knowing that my situation is not nearly as severe as many of those out there, I am just looking to discuss my situation and learn of others in an attempt to receive and give support.
Pathology Report Summary:
Clinical Information
Part A - sigmoid polyp (1.5 cm)
Part B - base of sigmoid polyp
Part c - rectal biopsy
Microscopic Exam
A: Sections show polypoid colonic mucosa with features of pendunculated tubular adenoma. No high grade dysplasia, and no malignancy seen. Visualized cautery margins are negative for adenomatous changes.
B: Sections show benign mucosal fragments. No dysplasia seen. No malignancy seen.
C: Sections show colonic mucosal fragments without any significant histopathological abnormality.
Final Diagnosis
A: Colon, Sigmoid, Polypectomy: tubular adenoma
B: Base of sigmoid poly, negative for dysplasia
C: Rectal biopsy: no significant histopathological abnormality
Follow up colonoscopy every 3 years
Take care all! Best wishes from a man that was recently awoken to the harsh reality of life and how important it is to realize how lucky we are to be alive.