38 year old with polyps

[Ac533]

Hi

I'm a 38 year old male who recently discovered I have several polyps . I initially has a colosxopy at 35 due to bleeding where they found a tubulovillus andenomas about 5mm in diameter with moderate dysplasia. I was put on a surveillance plan and had a follow up colonoscopy at 38 which was about 2 weeks ago . They found another 2 flat polyps about 3mm in diameter which pathology showed to be tubular andenomas with low grade dysplasia . At this point I was getting a little concerned about genetic issues since Im fairly young . Doctor suggested sister get tested but her colonoscopy came up clean. I have no bowel cancer in the family or even history of polyps as far I know . Both mum and dad had colonoscopy in thepast which only showed diverticulosis on mum . No polyps though . Mum did eventually go on the die from a brain tumour at 67 and grandma from dad's side from breast cancer at 78 . No other cancers than I know of.

I should mention I did smoke a fair bit througjy 20s and early 30s and drink most weekends about one bottle of wine .

At this stage should I question the docs more about possible genetic issues like Lynch ? Or is this more likely a lift style issue ? Are these type of polyps of that size comon through your 30 s ?

Thanks

[Pyro]

Ask the doctors these questions as we are not, I had about the same lifestyle as you but didn’t smoke, stage 4 at 38.

[Ac533]

Thanks for the reply and sorry to hear about the diagnosis. I have spoken to my Gi who did the colonoscopy and my gp as well . Both seem very dismissive of anything more than this whole saga being bad luck and/or related to bad diet smoking drinking etc... Specially with no family history of young cancer and sister coming up clean of polyps .
Maybe they're right who knows ....I guess I'm just a little.shook up and looking for some logic behind all this. It's quite scarey to think it's all random and if I didn't do a colonoscopy at 35 which most people don't I could have been looking at a full blown cancer ...

[LPL]

Ac533, Good for you to get a colonoscopy!
Glad to hear you only ha polyps and not cancer!
Maybe now that you know that you obviously are ‘making these’ unlike some other family members, you will be checked regularly I presume. All the best to you.

[Ac533]

Yeah.... I've been told 5 year follow up this time round cause they were small and low grade however I'm a little dubious about that . First time I did it I only had 1 polyp in the rectum . This time which is just under 3 years following the first one I had another 2 (although small) in the right side . Not sure how they can justify 5 years when they know I've grown another 2 in the space of just under 3 years . When I questioned the gi on it he said well even if you had waited 5 years the 2 that were found this time probably wouldn't have grown much beyond 5 mm anyway given how small they were ... The use of the word probably didn't instill too much confidence in me !

[Pyro70]

I would ask the GI again if it makes sense to check you for Lynch. I would also ask for fairly frequent screening (1-2 years). Colonoscopies unfortunately aren’t fool proof. I was under regular surveillance due to a very mild / asymptomatic case of UC. Had about 7 colonoscopies that came back clean. Then had one with stenosis at the IC valve, pathology showed inflammation and no dysplasia . Had a repeat colonoscopy about 3 months later that showed the same thing. GI doc said it must be Chron’s. Turns out it was stage IVb colon cancer at age 35. The GI doc was in disbelief. In hindsight I think my cancer grew on the proximal side of the ileocecal valve- I don’t think that’s an area they usually check in a colonoscopy.

Personally I’d stay on top of screening. Ask for lynch testing. I likely wouldn’t consider something as drastic as colectomy - a j pouch is life altering.

[Ac533]

Thank you for the replies. I'm not really sure why they don't seem too phased that poylps have been discovered in me so young or why they keep regrowing . He almost made it sound like it was a normal occurrence that he sees regularly . I'll see if I can find another specialties to ask... As for screening I'm put on 5 years per the current guidelines but all I need to do is saying I've seen blood and I'm pretty sure they will give me another colonoscopy ... I might go again in a year and see how I go !

[O Stoma Mia]

Information to help with the interpretation of colonoscopy reports:
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60733&p=480975#p480975

[Ac533]

Thank you ! That was very informative. Judging by that the first polyp they took out 3 years ago was the nasty one being a tubulovillus andenomas and in the sigmoid colon . Seems to be a regular location of occurrence for young males. The second 2 in the ascending colon this time were very small and have no villus components which according that what I just read ia indicative of low risk turning to cancer .perhaps they were so small they were missed in the originally colonoscopy ? Who knows... Anyway the gi did mention aspirin as a potential way of reducing risk but said dose is questionable still.he suggested 75 mg baby aspirin daily and see if it has any effects by the time I need to be scopes again .anyone have any info on this and the suitable dose ? Or any other way to reduce risk ? . Obviously no longer smoking and contemplating reducing or even giving up alcohol all together as a start !

[Pyro70]

Thank you for the replies. I'm not really sure why they don't seem too phased that poylps have been discovered in me so young or why they keep regrowing . He almost made it sound like it was a normal occurrence that he sees regularly . I'll see if I can find another specialties to ask... As for screening I'm put on 5 years per the current guidelines but all I need to do is saying I've seen blood and I'm pretty sure they will give me another colonoscopy ... I might go again in a year and see how I go !

I don’t know how significant your polyp findings are. I haven’t looked into this enough. A few polyps by themselves aren’t really a big deal, I’m not sure if dysplasia (precancer) is a big deal in your case. I know for UC patients with polyps and dysplasia they would recommend a colectomy, but not for normal patients. If you doubt your doctors get a second opinion, but if he second GI doc thinks it’s fine I wouldn’t worry too much. Life is short...

[DarknessEmbraced]

I would talk to your doctor and follow up with another colonoscopy when recommended. Good luck!*hugs*

[boxhill]

There's lots of advice to be had out there regarding lowering your chances of CRC, most of which are good for just about everything that might ail you. You know the drill: eat a healthy diet (which boils down to the so-called Mediterranean diet for most people w/o food allergies, drink only in moderation, get regular exercise, try to maintain a healthy weight, take a baby aspirin, and for CRC maybe a vitamin D supplement. (I'm sure people can and will recommend all kinds of supplements, a subject that many are devoted to. )

I would suggest that you look into the stool-sample type tests (FIT et al) and consider taking one every year between colonoscopies. They certainly aren't 100%, but neither are colonoscopies, and they are a lot cheaper and easier and might give you some peace of mind.