Questions pathology report. Colon cancer

[FunWithFive 60]

I am in total panic mode. I had a colonoscopy 3 years ago at age 27 for bleeding on my stools. I was found to have a 1cm polyp in my sigmoid. It was removed and biopsied and I was told it was a benign Hyperplastic polyp which needed no further treatment and to have a repeat colonoscopy in 10 years. 

Well

i have been doing some reading about colon polyps and now I am thinking my polyp was misdiagnosed. My polyp was on a stalk and Hyperplastic are usually NOT on a stalk. Doesn't mean they can't be they just usually are more dome like with no stalk. The precancerous polyps are usually on a stalk. Mine was 10mm and Hyperplastic polyps are usually 5mm or under. 

I am literally SICK to my stomach thinking for 3 years now I thought I was fine and had an extremely small colon cancer risk and this whole time my pathology could have been wrong or something was missed.  

Anyone know if pathology could be wrong or looked at and dignosed wrong? 

[Holls 1505]

Sorry you are worried about this.. why are you second guessing your Dr. ? I don't think they would tell you you were fine if they thought something could develop. Also, they would tell you to have a colonoscopy sooner than ten yrs. 

Are you having any blood in your stool and that what lead you to research this? or did you just start researching just to do it? 

[FunWithFive 60]

 No symptoms but the other colon polyp thread here lead me to the colon club website which triggered anxiety about my polyp and I have literally researched all day long and found that Hyperplastic polyps are so not like the polyp that was found in my colon other than its location (Hyperplastic is 99% of the time in the sigmoid and mine was too) 

i guess I'm questioning the pathology and maybe there was a mix up?

[utrocket09 115]

After 3 years, hard to believe there would a mix up. You also probably would have orher symptoms. 

[Holls 1505]

I'm so sorry you are so anxious about this. I think it's a normal feeling to wonder if they missed something.. but that's the way we think (people with health anxiety) 

Just take a deep breath and stop researching. Trust your doctors and remember you have no symptoms to make you think somethingis going on. You're going to be ok.  

[Gilly 1086]

FunWithFive, you have created the panic by researching, please stop! You don't have any symptoms and the polyp was removed also. There is no reason to doubt the pathology other than what you have read online and you aren't qualified to understand the validity of what you are reading.

I'm all for research and knowledge and understanding our bodies but you have to be very careful with HA not to fall into a deep dark rabbit hole. 

[FunWithFive 60]

Anxiety is through the roof this morning. I am having a really hard time. I know I shouldn't question pathology but I can't find anything saying my type of benign polyp looks the way mike did. I literally feel sick thinking i have colon cancer or I'm very high risk. 

To knowledge I haven't had any blood on my stools. I have a few times where I had little teeny tiny specs of blood on the TP After wiping. 

I am just scared. So so scared after reading.  

I am only 29 and I do not want to die and leave my children and husband. 

[Pinky92 44]

2 hours ago, FunWithFive said:

Anxiety is through the roof this morning. I am having a really hard time. I know I shouldn't question pathology but I can't find anything saying my type of benign polyp looks the way mike did. I literally feel sick thinking i have colon cancer or I'm very high risk. 

To knowledge I haven't had any blood on my stools. I have a few times where I had little teeny tiny specs of blood on the TP After wiping. 

I am just scared. So so scared after reading.  

I am only 29 and I do not want to die and leave my children and husband. 

Hi, Fun. I remember you from AZ. This health anxiety thing is so brutal. I do know that googling is probably the worst thing we do to ourselves,,I.e., you say that "you can't find anything saying my type of polyp looks the way mine did". Fun, understand, please, that you WONT find anything to take away your anxiety from a session with Dr. Google. He's not a doctor, he doesn't know you, nor are we qualified to interpret a pathology report. These are all facts. Why are you "researching" colon polyps? Not to sound harsh Fun, but all this panic is self induced. I can say that because I know, I've done it so many times. Also, Fun, think about this....how many other cancers have you been "sure" you have in the past few months? You have five children and a husband who need you NOW, get off google, and BE with them. These are the people who you are petrified of leaving, but in reality, you're not even with them. You are living as IF you have cancer. I truly hope you can find your way out of this, somehow, and begin to appreciate you already have EVERYTHING. I wasted decades, Fun, decades on health anxiety fears that I can never, ever get back. Do whatever you have to do to end this, but please, do it. See a therapist, consider meds, but please, do something. I will pray for you, and for all of us who suffer this way.

[FunWithFive 60]

Thank you. 

I should have said I am on 10mg of Prozac and I seemed to be doing SO much better until this board trigger my polyp anxiety and I went to the colon club website and the rest is now history and I am now certain I had a wrong diagnosis and I am a goner. 

I hate this 

[Gilly 1086]

3 hours ago, FunWithFive said:

Anxiety is through the roof this morning. I am having a really hard time. I know I shouldn't question pathology but I can't find anything saying my type of benign polyp looks the way mike did. I literally feel sick thinking i have colon cancer or I'm very high risk. 

To knowledge I haven't had any blood on my stools. I have a few times where I had little teeny tiny specs of blood on the TP After wiping. 

I am just scared. So so scared after reading.  

I am only 29 and I do not want to die and leave my children and husband. 

You're not going to die. Blood on the stool or specks of blood or blood on the TP is a sign of a hemmy or a tear or something minor. Take some deep breaths, have a talk to your doctor to see if they consider you a high risk. You have options here its not all out of your control, right now everything is OK. If you may be higher risk then you can have a more frequent colonoscopy. You'll turn yourself inside and out without a professional opinion.

fwiw I had my entire colon removed when I was 25, I'm 45 now and I'm here and I'm still kicking and according to my gastro, healthy as can be. 

[Ihadcancer 321]

On 4/7/2017 at 7:23 PM, FunWithFive said:

benign Hyperplastic polyp

Quote

What if my report also mentions “hyperplastic polyps”?

“Hyperplastic polyps” are totally benign (non-cancerous) and have no significance.

[FunWithFive 60]

14 hours ago, Ihadcancer said:

I have read that over and over but I'm still questioning the actual pathology. Like did they get it wrong? Was it really precancerous and they missed it?

[Ihadcancer 321]

FWF,  this is ALL these guys do, day after day.  Just because something was shaped differently than you think it should have been shaped doesn't change the fact that it was totally and forever BENIGN!  Flat, stalk, round, half round.......... BENIGN. 

The reason path reports take days is that they freeze and paper thin slice these things then look at them under super high powered microscopes. They add a dye which would show up different types of cells.  

In 5 out of my 17 lymph nodes 8 years ago, they found microscopic cancer cells. Too small to be seen except under a very expensive and high powered scope. 

This is why we shouldn't be given full reports.  All you needed to know was 'benign and the type that NEVER turns into cancer'.  

Your 5 children are losing their mother to fear!  Hours that you could be making fun memories, you're spending, instead, teaching them fear.  I know it happens because I have a class of 29 (now) kids in Sunday School. They're 1st and 2nd graders and I have several who already have health anxiety!  It breaks my heart.  I know they've learned it from mom or grandmother and I try to brush it off and reassure them without giving them TOO MUCH attention because I don't want to feed the beast. 

Please. If you cannot let this go, call the group or look online and see the credentials of the doctor who did the pathology report. If it hadn't been so many years, you could have asked if you could have him explain something.  I recently asked the radiologist about the wording on my 'cluster of small nodules' in my lung.  He said 'developing' and 'infection/ inflammation'.  I wanted to know what he meant by developing. He was super happy to help and explained all about these clusters that pop up with different conditions like pneumonia, etc.  

As for the 'shape' of your polyp....  The surgeon told me how mine was shaped.  In 8 years I've never seen that described in any papers but I did see one post on the colon cancer forum where someone said their doctor said there's was shaped a certain way.  It was out. It was gone. It's stored somewhere.......... and I know I've never had another polyp of any shape.  I refuse to search the internet for this strange description. 

[FunWithFive 60]

55 minutes ago, Ihadcancer said:

FWF,  this is ALL these guys do, day after day.  Just because something was shaped differently than you think it should have been shaped doesn't change the fact that it was totally and forever BENIGN!  Flat, stalk, round, half round.......... BENIGN. 

The reason path reports take days is that they freeze and paper thin slice these things then look at them under super high powered microscopes. They add a dye which would show up different types of cells.  

In 5 out of my 17 lymph nodes 8 years ago, they found microscopic cancer cells. Too small to be seen except under a very expensive and high powered scope. 

This is why we shouldn't be given full reports.  All you needed to know was 'benign and the type that NEVER turns into cancer'.  

Your 5 children are losing their mother to fear!  Hours that you could be making fun memories, you're spending, instead, teaching them fear.  I know it happens because I have a class of 29 (now) kids in Sunday School. They're 1st and 2nd graders and I have several who already have health anxiety!  It breaks my heart.  I know they've learned it from mom or grandmother and I try to brush it off and reassure them without giving them TOO MUCH attention because I don't want to feed the beast. 

Please. If you cannot let this go, call the group or look online and see the credentials of the doctor who did the pathology report. If it hadn't been so many years, you could have asked if you could have him explain something.  I recently asked the radiologist about the wording on my 'cluster of small nodules' in my lung.  He said 'developing' and 'infection/ inflammation'.  I wanted to know what he meant by developing. He was super happy to help and explained all about these clusters that pop up with different conditions like pneumonia, etc.  

As for the 'shape' of your polyp....  The surgeon told me how mine was shaped.  In 8 years I've never seen that described in any papers but I did see one post on the colon cancer forum where someone said their doctor said there's was shaped a certain way.  It was out. It was gone. It's stored somewhere.......... and I know I've never had another polyp of any shape.  I refuse to search the internet for this strange description. 

I actually never saw the path report (I don't think at least) so I have no idea who did it but I know it was done at a big hospital (where I had my scope) all I know is I had a sigmoidoscopy on Monday and polyp was found. Tuesday had full colonoscopy and polyp removed. Friday I got a call just before 5am from the doctors nurse sahinh my polyp pathology was Hyperplastic and that's the best kind to have and I didn't need another scope for 10 years. 

Unfortunately the gastro who did my scope and who I loved passed away suddenly last May. I got a letter in the mail. So there in no more getting in touch with her however last month I called the practice and asked about my follow up just to make sure. They pulled my record ans called me the next day saying no more scope for 10 years so obviously it's in my chart like that too. 

I just can't stop thinking I could have another one growing inside me. 

[FunWithFive 60]

Also I had the scope April 27, 2014 so 3 years ago. 

[Ihadcancer 321]

And well you could but they take many years to grow and those that might someday become cancerous take up to 10 years. Doctors will scope at three years after a polyp is found but I don't know if they will if the polyp is a benign type. 

If you were scoped tomorrow, and nothing was found, would you be reassured and for how long? 

Call and see if they will see you sooner but what illness comes next? 

[FunWithFive 60]

8 hours ago, Ihadcancer said:

And well you could but they take many years to grow and those that might someday become cancerous take up to 10 years. Doctors will scope at three years after a polyp is found but I don't know if they will if the polyp is a benign type. 

If you were scoped tomorrow, and nothing was found, would you be reassured and for how long? 

Call and see if they will see you sooner but what illness comes next? 

Good point and I already thought if nothing was found I would think "oh it was too tiny or oh it was missed" and I would continue to question the professionals like a good hypochondriac does. 

I have blood work on Monday and then I go back for my annual physical with my GP the following Monday and I am going to bring up my concerns and see if he thinks there is reason to be scoped again this year even though he recommendation is 10 years. Even if my polyp was precancerous since I only had 1 in the sigmoid the follow up time would be 5 years. The only time they recommend 3 years is for the polyps that have a highly likelyhood of becoming scary and even then it's not 100% they will. 

My dad had a scope last year (he is 52) and he had a FLAT precancerous polyp which is the not so good kind and they don't even want to see him back for 3 years since we have no history of CC and he only had that one.  

[mollyfin 366]

I hate finding out that something I've been told is benign is behaving in a sketchy-seeming way because it always makes me worry about a misdiagnosis.  But so far that hasn't happened. 

For example, I had a very elevated CA-125 test (used to detect certain cancers) and the values kept climbing.  Turned out to just be endometriosis making my body flip out way more than normal.  My fibroid is the only one I have and rather fast-growing.  None of my doctors are worried about it, but both of those are "you might have a serious problem IF..." symptoms for fibroids.  I'd be lying if I said it weren't on my mind at all, but I'm trying to remember that just because something is UNUSUAL doesn't mean that it's IMPOSSIBLE.  Lucky us; we just have to be unique! 

It does suck though; anxiety takes that stuff and runs with it.  It'd be nice if we could get lucky and just get the usual features of a totally benign condition.  Which is what you have; a completely benign condition; something that plain old doesn't turn into cancer; you just have a more unusual version of it. 

I hope your GP tells you that there's no reason for a scope so you won't have to worry about that as well!