Hello and thanks for your post,

I am sorry to hear about your recent colonoscopy and can understand the confusion that it has caused you with all the jargon that is used.

I am not a pathologist but I will do my best to explain what your results all mean.

To start with polyps are incredibly common with 1 in 4 people diagnosed with a polyp after the age of 50. Polyps do not usually turn in to cancer. But if some types of polyps (called adenomas) are not removed , there is a chance that they may eventually be cancerous.

There is more information on the NHS website which you can see here

By the sound of it they were unable to remove the first polyp and this can happen. In order to remove it they are going to do a procedure called advanced endoscopic EMR Endoscopic Mucosal Resection) which you can read about here

The endoscopic mucosal resection is similar to another colonoscopy but from I can understand it is better at removing flatter polyps.

The second polyp sounded like it was quite large and it had a NICE classification of 2/3 but they were able to remove this.

The NICE classifications are used by the pathologists to describe what the polyps look like. They are labelled from 1-3. 

I can understand that it is alarming when you see a report like this but it does sound like they are doing all they can in preventing these benign (not cancer) polyps from turning into a cancer. 

Screening with MRI's and CT scans and a further colonoscopy will hopefully ensure that anything suspicious is removed.

Do go through the report with your team and ask them what it all means and how you will be screened in the future. Doctors have guidelines about how they mange polyps so do ask them about this.

I would stay away from google which is so general and does not relate to anyone.

The other person that you could discuss this report with is your GP. The doctors at the hospital will have written to the GP explaining your procedure, any further tests that you need, and how you should be followed up.

Try not to overthink it all but it does help to talk it all through with your doctors so moving  forward they can provide you with the information about any further treatment that you need now  and how you will be monitored in the future.

I hope that this helps. By all means do give us a ring if you want to discuss any of this with one of the nurses on the helpline but do also speak to your doctors or your GP. Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040

Best Wishes,

Catherine