Polyp at 35...

[kscolon]

Hello everyone,
I'm thankful to have found this forum. I'm also thankful that I got a colonoscopy yesterday, as my doctor found a 10mm sigmoid polyp.
I'm waiting on the result of the biopsy (What are they looking for?), but I find myself a little anxious to be waiting 2 weeks to talk to my doctor.

Can I ask you all a few questions that have been nagging at me? (I've tried to search for it, but the answers are unclear.)

1) I understand that polyps can develop into cancer. If they keep on finding polyps in my colon but we keep on removing them, could I still get cancer? Or does the fact that I HAD a polyp automatically increase my risk of cancer whether or not I keep on removing the polyps?

2) Can you get colorectal cancer WITHOUT getting polyps?

3) Should I be worried that I'm 35, and I already had a polyp? Does this put me in a higher risk category?

4) Does having 1 polyp increase the chance of developing another one compared to other people?

5) My polyp was 10 mm. Everything I read is if it's greater than 10 mm, it's riskier. What about if it's exactly 10 mm?

6) Now I'm worried about the rest of my organs. Do you guys get your esophagus, liver, kidneys, lungs, stomach, small intestine, etc. checked?

7) What does the biopsy check for?

I'll definitely be asking my doctor all of these when I get to talk to him, but I wanted to calm my anxiety a little bit. Any response would be very helpful.
I do feel lucky that I found a little bit of blood in my stool and was having digestive issues (probably IBS) so that a colonoscopy was ordered.

[KimT]

We are not doctors and it would be irresponsible for us to speculate on these questions. We just are not qualified to answer those questions. We are survivors or loved ones of survivors and it doesn’t make us experts in cancer. I would suggest laying off google while you wait to speak to your doctor. You will just drive yourself nuts and there is a lot of unvetted information out there. Best of luck.

[hiker]

You pose some excellent questions...and maybe your doctor can answer them...and maybe not. Cancer is unpredictable and there are no guarantees with it. It attacks different parts of the body, it reacts or fails to react to certain chemo cocktails, it does what it wants for the most part.

I understand your anxiety, but there's absolutely nothing you can do at this point - whether or not you have cancer. If you get the results of the biopsy and you don't have cancer, praise God and go out to celebrate. If you do have cancer, then start the process of assembling the best possible team to help you - there are plenty of us on this forum who would be willing to fill you in on our journey and what we've done.

I wish you the best and I pray your results come back negative for cancer. If not, we're here for you.

hiker

[erins]

First off, good on you for getting a colonoscopy! Seriously, that is a huge thing in staying healthy, so kudos.

The wait-for-results limbo period is the worst—definitely stay away from Dr Google (someone here said ‘Dr Google is a great mortician but a poor physician’ and it’s definitely true)

Keep to as normal & busy a schedule as possible—find fun stuff to do to help keep your mind off things—you’ve already done above and beyond to look after yourself, the rest will come along as it does.

The biopsy involves pathologists looking at your polyp to determine the kinds of cells it contains—this takes a while as it isn’t automated & they are very methodical. 2 weeks is about typical. If it’s non-cancerous you’ll likely arrange for routine colonoscopies to keep an eye out for any more polyps. If it’s something more serious, your doctor may arrange for a CT scan to check for any other anomalies.

I can’t talk to probabilities, etc, but the biggest thing you can do right now is to celebrate yourself—I mean that seriously. You’ve done a great job advocating and looking out for yourself—that’s something you should take a lot of pride in.

Keeping you in my thoughts—and let us know how it turns out!

[O Stoma Mia]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There are several other questions you could ask once you see the doctor:

-What type of polyp was it? A sessile (flat) polyp, or a pedunculated polyp (one with a stem).
-Was the polyp completely removed or only partially removed?
-When will you have to go in for a followup colonscopy?
-Did they tattoo the place where they found this polyp so that they can recognize that location on your next colonoscopy?
-Did they do a complete colonoscopy, i.e., did it go all the way to the end (cecum) and did they take a photo of the cecal valve to prove that they reached the end?
-Did they give you a written report with photos, and do you understand all of the technical language that was used?
-Did they find any other problems (e.g., hemorrhoids, ulcers, diverticulosis, etc.)?

Prior post on the histology and size of polyps:
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59961&p=476444#p476444

You could also ask your doctor if you have any known risk factors for colon cancer. In the Mayo Clinic link below there is a list of 13 risk factors for colon cancer:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/colon-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353669

Scroll down that web page until you reach the section on Risk Factors, then look through the list to see if you have any of the 13 risk factors that they mention. Then you can ask your doctor if there is anything you could do to minimize the chance of having another polyp occur.

Also, further down on that same web page there is a list of questions you could ask your doctor. Some of those questions might be appropriate for your upcoming visit with the doctor.

You are very lucky that your doctor recommended a colonoscopy at your age, because now they have caught the polyp at an early stage and this is the whole point of early screening.

-

[Ehut]

Not to scare you, but your story sounds eerily similar to my story. I had a 30 mm sigmoid polyp found during a colonoscopy, ordered after I reported blood in the stool. The GI doctor said I should have a repeat colonoscopy in 2 years. The GI office never called me with results of the pathology report until I called and left a message. Eventually, someone other than the doctor called me back and said "it was negative" but had no other details. Okay, I thought, sounds good! A few months later, I had continued blood in stool, and started exhibiting signs of obstruction. I visited the GI doctor several times where he assured me, and I quote, "Tell your wife she has NOTHING to worry about" and prescribed Miralax. He finally agreed to order another colonoscopy (14 months after the original one) where they found a full blown tumor at or near the site of the original polyp. I then visited Mayo Clinic and when they reviewed the pathology report from the original polyp, they said they would have had a follow up colonoscopy at 3 months because the cells were about 80% of the way to being cancerous. A CT scan that same week revealed it was stage IV already.

My suggestions for you:
1) Speak to an EXPERT about your pathology report. Don't settle for a nurse or anyone other than a doctor. Try to understand the extent of the mutation in the polyp.
2) Push for a repeat colonoscopy sooner than the recommended 2-3 years
3) Get a second opinion about the pathology report
4) Talk to your doctor about a daily baby aspirin to help prevent polyp formation

FYI - I had around 6 polyps found (and removed) when I was diagnosed at age 35. I have had zero found since then with 2 follow up colonoscopies. I am one of the "lucky ones" who has been NED since my initial chemo/radiation/surgery/chemo.

[O Stoma Mia]

I agree with Ehut's suggestions. You are now at a stage where you will have some concrete information, both from the colonoscopy procedure report itself, and also from the pathology report annex. These two reports originate from two different doctors -- the doctor who did the colonoscopy procedure, and the pathologist who did the pathology report.

You should insist on complete written reports in both cases. Don't settle for a simple oral summary. You need something concrete and written that you can show other doctors to get second opinions.

There are some things that can go wrong, or be overlooked, or be misinterpreted in both types of reports. You need to have someone else who can look at these reports and spot something that's missing or something that's not quite right.

There are established standards for good colonoscopies, and there are also established standard pathology reporting templates for colorectal specimens that indicate the required elements that must be included in a pathology report.

You should make sure that you have solid factual information concerning your current situation and that this information is being interpreted correctly.

Additional information on colonoscopy report interpretation is included in this post:

https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59617&p=473536&p=473536#p473536