34yo male here who had a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago after having abdominal and back pain, constipation on and off since June.
I had a positive FIT test which my doctor believes to be because I have an anal fissure and I have rectal bleeding.
The colonoscopy was clear apart from a 4mm sessile polyp in my rectum. The nurse said that this isn't cancer. She was quite firm on this. It's being sent off as a matter of course as a routine pathology. 6-8 weeks she said.
I'm just very concerned that it's going to come back as cancerous and they are making me wait 6-8 weeks.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
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MagnusMoo
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Thanks for posting with us. I am glad you are getting things checked out and looking for answers. It’s great you had the colonoscopy because they did find a polyp. Given that information, you should be being put on some schedule of surveillance to keep checking if other polyps are developing (1 yr, 5 yr?). Also, was it determined that this polyp was the cause for the positive FIT test? Otherwise, you don’t know the reason for the positive FIT test.
As far as the abdominal pain is concerned, what did your doctor say is causing that? I would think that if the colonoscopy did not make things apparent as to the cause of the abdominal pain, you should be getting a CT scan to see if something else is discoverable as being the cause. The CT scan and the colonoscopy have their own unique benefits as far as a test to determine what’s going on. One test can see things that the other will not detect.
Yes, 6 to 8 weeks seems to be an awful lot of time for Histology to report their findings. Maybe things are backed up there, I don’t know. I don’t know ways of speeding things up and manipulating your healthcare there in the UK. But it does seem to be a long time to wait.
Another good thing to know is if there are any hereditary aspects to medical issues within your family. This would be good information for your doctor to know as well as it could drive further testing for both you and family members.
Also, you are young. That is very beneficial to you, but it could be detrimental to the testing you would be given. Never accept a diagnosis about something simply because you are young. A symptom needs to be diagnosed and an answer found no matter what age. Many health issues could be a small percentage in your age group, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be happening.
I do wish you the best in finding answers to what’s going on. I think you should be seeking other procedures to find out what’s causing this. A small polyp that more than likely would turn out to be non-cancerous would probably not be the cause of abdominal and back pain, but it may be the culprit in your FIT test coming back positive? Your doctor needs to express that. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions you still have. So, please seek those answers.
Please let us know what you find out. That info can be helpful to others on the site as well.
Thank you,
~Tom, GCCA Survivor - Colon Cancer Connected Site Administrator.
Just a reminder - this group is here to offer support, share experiences, and offer our thoughts - but this is not medical advice, and you should always consult your medical professional(s). Additionally, for all emergencies, seek urgent medical care, never delay.
Doctor thinks it's my anal fissure that's causing the blood but I'm not so sure
I feel like my anus is full of poo all the time
The nurse said it's 6-8 weeks because it's being sent off as routine
I asked if it's being sent off to pathology to check for cancer and she said "It's being sent off as a matter of course as all polyps are removed and sent off now. You don't have a cancer. You 100% don't have cancer"
Just don't understand how she can know that without it being looked at by pathology
I absolutely think it's cancer - 100% - if it's my time to go, there's not much I can do about that but at least give me a diagnosis.
Going to get in touch with my doctor tomorrow because this isn't right
She can't know it for sure. I'm like you. I want to see it on the report from pathology. I haven't had to wait 6-8 weeks either. Did you get in touch with the doctor and get any further answers?
I had colonoscopy and three polyps removed one 14mm two weeks ago after positive test and regular bleeding. Pathology confirmed no issues follow up colonoscopy in four years. So try not to worry.
My first histology results took about 6 weeks for the large 30mm polyp that was removed... a recent histology took around 2 weeks for a small 3mm polyp.
oh, isn’t it lovely? Making you wait 8 weeks at the most? I’m being sarcastic as, I find waiting for almost unbearable. It’s hard but these little that can effectively be done to speed things up.
From what you’ve discovered things do look encouraging though. The one polyp has every change of being a harmless pain in the butt 😁
one thing you can do while waiting is… take on whether the pains you have decrease or disappear over that eight week period. You can think ahead to whether you’ ll need any other tests focusing on the abdomen. While having wait, monitor how you’re physically. That way, when the result arrive, you’ll have a direction to go in next.
Yeh, forget google; if it’s not all doom and gloom the info given over plays the medical conditions people.
Of course, yes. You want to know. I get that. I’m the same. You just want definitive answers. The nurse shouldn’t have said what she did. She will a lot of experience and know she’s seen it all regarding polyps, lumps, tumours etc. she should’ve erred on the side of caution when telling what she thought.
The trouble with symptoms is there’s no telling for definite if it’s cancer as cancer symptoms aren’t much different from non cancerous symptoms. The only thing I can say is go with the info you have so far from you colonoscopy. Do you have access to you patient records online? Take a dive into then if so. I’d also set up an appointment with your doctor to discuss your results. You’ll get another opinion on it. The doctor might be able to put you more at ease than the nurse did. Over confidence actually isn’t reassuring which is why the nurse’ response concerns you.
Definitely make an appointment to see, or phone chat with doctor about this. It’s better to hear from another medical professional. Beforehand, think of questions you want to ask. You might question already. Write them down so you have them with you when you talk to doctor. If you’re being made six=eight weeks to get a definite answer, the least can be done is for is for them to give you info on how things are looking now. What they are expecting to find out. At least so as you’re completely in the dark.
Please try not to threat about it. There are genuinely a lot of other possibilities for your symptoms. You need someone in the know of your medical situation to talk to you.
In my situation these things are extremely slow to develop. My doctor actually told me that the tumor they took out of me in 2012 was a polyp in 2006. That's the huge window that I missed because I didn't get screened. I should have paid more merit to the family history.
I think you are way ahead of the game catching it in the polyp stage👍👍
Years ago when I had my first colonoscopy the Dr. said "You had four polyps, 2 were the kind that can turn into cancer" so they must know what they are looking at. She did the biopsy as well and had me come back in a year. After a year she said I had 2 tiny "pimples" and she zapped them and said come back in3 years. That time nothing. 5 additional years again nothing. Then she said 7 years but after 4 I had cancer . By that time I was 68 years old. So I would say don't worry at all. Sounds like you are on top of things..
The nurse said "You definitely don't have cancer. You 100% don't have bowel cancer"
Just don't understand how she knows that without pathology
Scared that I'm going to wait the 6-8 weeks and then it's going to come back as cancerous, the polyp is going to have spread to other organs prior to removal and then it'll be too late for me.
I know the waiting is anxious and make our minds wonder a lot , I know it’s easier said than done but I still hope you don’t think too much because I’m someone who thinks a lot too and sometimes it becomes anxiety. I know your feeling and I hope you do update when u receive the result
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