Quick question about colonoscopy

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ang121
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:59 am

Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby ang121 » Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:20 am

Hi everyone! I posted recently about constant pelvic ache I have had for the past 6 weeks, along with gas and rumbling/discomfort in the pelvic region and received some excellent feedback and got my colonoscopy done today.

I received good news in that the colonoscopy was normal and no growths or abnormalities were found. I was wondering, would colonoscopy be able to easily find any mass anywhere within the rectum? Or is colonoscopy mostly for the rest of the colon? My GI doc was able to do a full colonoscopy all the way down to the cecum with no issues. I just wanted to make sure that a colonoscopy wouldnt miss rectal cancer, right? I was concerned mainly about the rectal region since the ache is in the pelvis, where the rectum is. Thanks, and I appreciate the feedback I have gotten from this forum very much!

AussieAssCancer
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 10:16 am

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby AussieAssCancer » Wed Feb 07, 2018 4:13 am

Hi Ang,

Firstly, congrats on the clean scope, no doubt it’s a huge relief, although annoying that you still have the ache.

Having been diagnosed with rectal cancer by colonoscopy, I can tell you can rest easy. Not only is the rectum the first place they look at, it’s also the last place.

The business part of a colonoscopy is on the way out, and that’s where the specialist spends their time. Because of that, the rectum is the last part of the exam. The other benefit is that I’m pretty sure the rectum is not like the rest of the colon in terms of structure, so while the colon has lots of folds etc, the rectum is relatively smooth, but I could be wrong in that regard - no doubt someone else here is better at anatomy :wink:

Congrats again and good luck finding the cause of the phantom pain

AAC
Dx Oct '15 w/ Stage 3c RC/ CEA 8
Nov '15 - Jan '16: 3x FOLFOX and 5wks Chemoradiation w/ Xeloda
March '16: ULAR w/ temp ileostomy
Complete pathological response incl 0/12 nodes
May - Aug '16: 9x FOLFOX (dropped Oxaliplatin for final Rd due to neuropathy)
Clear CT scans in April ‘16 (NED), Dec ‘16, Aug ‘17, Feb ‘18, March ‘19, Feb ‘20
Feb '17: Ileostomy reversed
CEA Post Surgery: ALWAYS 2

Blog: kickingrectalcancerintheassblog
https://kickingrectalcancerintheassblog.wordpress.com/

Deb m
Posts: 558
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:08 am

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby Deb m » Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:59 am

Yes. It would find anything abnormal in the rectum and the colon! Glad it all checked out ok.

ang121
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:59 am

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby ang121 » Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:09 am

Great! Thank you very much.

zx10guy
Posts: 233
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 12:54 pm

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby zx10guy » Wed Feb 07, 2018 1:53 pm

As someone who has gone through the last 2 colonoscopies awake, I can say chances are real good the doc will catch any abnormalities. While awake, I was watching the same monitor my doctor was watching. He talked through various things he saw. The first colonoscopy I did awake resulted in finding the polyp in the opening of my appendix. Turned out to be stage 0 appendicial cancer.

ang121
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:59 am

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby ang121 » Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:26 pm

Ok thats good to hear. My worry was because the rectum was so low, that maybe he couldve skipped over that part. But since its the first thing the colonoscope sees, hopefully it should be visible clearly by GI doc.

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:33 pm

Wonderful news your colonoscopy was clear!*hugs*
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)

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LeonW
Posts: 358
Joined: Sun May 03, 2015 4:59 pm
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby LeonW » Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:48 pm

zx10guy wrote:As someone who has gone through the last 2 colonoscopies awake.


Did you arrange this, or did it just happen?
I woke up during my last scopy (no fuzz - found it a learning) and have one coming up in June or so. Am thinking of being conscious again, if possible and not too uncomfortable)
Dec 2012 - CC 2 unresect liver mets, CEA 41.8 (MM 65yrs)
Jan 2013 - colectomy @ spleen 2/26 nodes IVa T3N1bM1a
Feb-Jul - 1x Xelox-7x Xelox/Avastin, shrinkage from #3
Aug - 2x PV embolization (both failed)
Sep 2013 - R liver resect, 25d hosp (liver failure/delirium, lung emboli, encephalopathy), no living cancer (pCR)
2014/15 - recovery, scopy: 2 polyps
2016 - new town/life
2018, scopy: 2 polyps
2018/20 low (1.0-1.4) CEAs/clean CTs: 4x2014, 6x2015-17, 3x2018-20
next June 2021!

menreeq
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:26 am

Re: Quick question about colonoscopy

Postby menreeq » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:48 am

You can decline anesthesia. I did this for the sigmoidoscopy and rectal US I had 4 days after my initial colonoscopy. I wanted to see the ultrasound. It wasn't hard at all but I bet it would be more painful if I were awake for the entire colonoscopy, not just to sigmoid. For my followup, I plan to stay awake.
Stage IIA rectosigmoid CC (T3N0M0)
Dx 6/5/17 @age 41ls
Workup: c-scope, EUS, rectal MRI, CT C/A/P
AdenoCA 5.5cm, WHO Grade 2, 0/22 LN, no distant mets
CEA 1.9 (6/5/17), 0.8 (2/28/18), 1.0 (9/17/18), 1.1 (4/16/19), 1.0 (9/24/19), 1.7 (7/8/20)
No lymphovasc/perineural invasion, clear margins
MSI intact, OncotypeDx RS 7
Lap sig colectomy 6/23/17, no ileo/colostomy
Genetics neg for mutations, 4 VUS
Xeloda monotherapy 8/13/17-1/22/18
PET/CT 3/21/18 NED
CT C/A/P 9/17/18 NED, 3/8/19 NED, 9/19/19 NED, 5/13/20 NED


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