The Colon Club

Does anyone know how common it is to find a mass during a colonoscopy and it not be cancerous? The reason I'm asking is because my Dad just had his first colonoscopy and the doctor found a mass in his descending colon. The doctor recommended removing it with surgery. I just learned of this news a few hours ago when my Dad called me. He wasn't very clear about the details which is frustrating. He just said "the doctor found a mass and they won't know anything about it until they remove it surgically". Since I had Stage 2 colon cancer last year (diagnosed almost exactly a year ago) I know all too well how bad this could be. I'm just wondering how possible it is to find a benign mass? My Dad said the doctor didn't seem to be in a rush with the surgery which is completely different from how they rushed me into surgery within 4 days of my colonoscopy. I guess I'm so worried because my Dad is 70 years old and I'm afraid this has been growing for a while. He's supposed to meet with the doctor again next week to discuss surgical options. I'm so worried about him and I can't bear to think of him having to go through all the things I did.
Please keep him in your prayers.

Misty--

I am so sorry for the stress and worry you are feeling right now. I can't imagine. To answer your question, I really don't know the odds exactly, but I will share what my gi shared w/ my husband and I just this week. We were discussing my hubby's scope pictures of some benign polyps, and the gi compared them to my mass and said that with a mass he can generally tell if it is cancer because of the color, shape and whether there is a sligt indention in the middle. This same gi told me after my scope that it was cancer even before pathology said so. I held out hope, but he was right.

I hope someone more knowledgable responds and helps. I am praying for good results.

Thank you for the response. I know its just a wait and see sort of situation.

My doctor knew at the colonoscopy that it was cancerous and told me as much. She did call it a "mass" but said it is most likely malignant and continued to discuss what the next steps would be. She said the biopsy would confirm all this, but she pretty much knew.

When they found a mass in my wife's sigmoid colon in november 2007, her internist said "Lisa has cancer". I asked the doctor "how can you say its cancer without biopsying the tumor" and he said "You are right, a biopsy will confirm it but a VERY HIGH percentage of masses in the colon are cancerous". He actually used a 90% number.

Dont want to scare you and I am very sorry to hear about your father.

I have 2 friends who had very large masses that required resections that turned out to be completely benign when thought they were cancerous, and i had a small one thought to be benign yet it was cancerous.. so yes it is all a crap shoot.. Good luck to him, i hope it turns out to be benign, or caught early if not..

I don't know what the odds are, but I'm sure some people in here can give you better info then I. I will pray for you and your dad.

blessings.
T.

As with others mentioned above, my GI informed me that he thought it was cancer before the biopsy results and setup scans and consultations without any results. I also have no idea in regards to a percentage, but I hope and pray that all is ok!

My prayers are with you and your family. I hope you make sure that DAD goes to a major cancer center. Even if the mass is cancer; your dad should live many more quality years.

just thought I'd give some input. I'm a 37 y/o male who had a right hemi-colectomy on June 27/08 (my birthday) they removed a mass the size of a large egg. Prior to the surgery the doctor was very elusive to whether or not it was cancer. Anyways turns out luckily it was benign and after talking to the surgeon after we knew the results he was quite surprised it wasn't cancer, and coming from a family with a strong history of colon cancer so was I (my mom had colon cancer at the age of 54 resulting in removal of part of her Left colon and a hysterectomy, also my cousin passed away at 36 from colon cancer about six months after my mom had surgery) so there is always the possibility that it is just a growth. my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. Keep thinking positive!!!

I am going through the same thing right now with my mother,she has a larga mass in the right side of the colon & they are planning surgery later on this week,she is 86 yrs. old if anyone knows of questions I should ask please respond this is all new to me as it was to you Thank you

purpleotis wrote:I am going through the same thing right now with my mother,she has a larga mass in the right side of the colon & they are planning surgery later on this week,she is 86 yrs. old if anyone knows of questions I should ask please respond this is all new to me as it was to you Thank you

Hi, My mother just had a colonoscopy today. She has a 6 cm mass in the right side of her colon, too. She is 80 and is meeting with a surgeon in two days. How did your mother make out?

My gastro answered me when I asked 'are you sure'.... that in 14 years he's only seen 2 masses that turned out to be benign.

Sorry about your Dad. Be persistent. I read an article that says older doctors don't rush when a patient is over 55 and many times won't even encourage chemo!

One positive thing, even if it is cancer, is that there's potentially a lot that can be done. No one wants colon cancer, but hopefully, if your Dad does, it will be an early stage that is treatable and beatable. Plus, you know the ropes. I think it's a huge advantage having experience. You don't have to reinvent the knowledge wheel. You already know so much and that will help your Dad.

Read my post - My Husband's Colonocsopy. I posted his biopsy results today. He has two 2CM ugly lookin masses that had mucus in them, but they turned out to be some noncancerous type of polyp. They still need to come out because of their size, but they wouldn't even turn cancerous.

You CAN have masses in the colon that are not cancer. I can tell you that comparing photos of his and mine, there are big differences. His are a different color, and not bleeding and angry looking like mine was. Our GI doctor called them both correctly. He told me that mine was cancer - he was sure of it. He told us that my husband's did not look like cancer at all. He was right.