Still concerned after colonoscopy. Advice pls.

Hi everyone,

End of April I had a colonoscopy. I had on-off rectal bleeding since January of this year and after a heavy bleed in March I saw my gp who referred me onto the NHS 2 week urgent pathway for colorectal cancer.
I was very scared as you can imagine. The colonoscopy was clear, no signs of cancer.
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I was given a discharge colonoscopy report, and it does not actually reflect what happened during the procedure which is why I'm posting this thread for advice and perspective.

I was non sedated for the procedure, and I spotted a tiny polyp by sheer chance. The Dr confirmed it was a polyp and I fully expected him to remove it, as that seems to be the general rule around polyps. He didn't. He said they're looking out for adenomas type polyps and they don't tend to remove hyper plastic polyps. *The report makes no reference to the fact there were polyps seen, and unremoved.
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I'm concerned because if I hadn't seen the polyp myself, where there more polyps of this type which the Dr seen and considered harmless? My understanding is over time polyps can change, shouldn't this be monitored in some way? 

I feel like asking for another colonoscopy or alternative procedure where they can remove this polyp, and more if  there was more?
Its odd the report has not included these details even if its considered unimportant? After-all its still a finding, a growth in my bowel, albeit small.
The Dr, of course, has the training and carries out colonoscopies daily. Logic tells me, he knows what to look for, but it still makes me uneasy knowing the fact a polyp (and maybe more) were unremoved, especially as the colonoscopy showed no markers for anything else explaining why I've had rectal bleeding.

I'm I over-reacting?


Any advice, thoughts?
 

  • Hello Stein09, 

    A big welcome to our forum. I can understand why you are a little bit suprised that no mention was made in the report of that polyp - I am not familiar with what is included in these reports myself and whether it is standard procedure not to mention those but you definitely need some answers and reassurance on this. Perhaps you could give your GP a call and talk to your doctor about this and ask whether this should have been mentioned. Your doctor may be able to shed some light too on why polyps such as this one are not routinely removed and what could then explain the rectal bleedig. So a little phone call to your GP to talk about this report might be a good idea and make you feel reassured about it all. 

    It is excellent news though that your colonoscopy came back clear with no signs of cancer. I hope you manage to talk things through with a medical expert soon.  

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator