For all those who have gotten Colonoscopies... please read!
Hi... I know I am much too young to consider a getting a colonoscopy which is why my question to all of you is not for me... have you gotten a colonoscopy before? If so did you get back results that stated you have pre-cancerous lesions? I am curious if anyone has more information about this, because I tried "googling" this but no good information was retrieved!
It is pretty important so thank you all for your help & information!
Yes, I have had a colonoscopy.
No, didn't get any unsettling/surprising results.
If I had, they would have been removed (polyps) during the procedure. I would consider that a wake-up call to eat a better diet - AND my doctor would want me to come back for another colonoscopy sooner than if I had tested clear (1-3 years vs. 5 years).
Fortunately they can remove those pre-cancerous bits easily before they mutate into full-blown cancer, so hooray!
I've watched a few colonoscopy procedures. What type of information were you looking for?
I had one done. Not a pleasant procedure. They didn't find anything.
You're never too young to get a colonoscopy.
Cancer happens to people of all ages, especially genetically passed cancer like colorectal.
Check WebMd
The results of a colonoscopy are pictures. I don't think they can conclusively diagnose cancer from these. While the instrument is in there, they feed a wire with a clawed end in to where they can see it with the camera, and take little samples (biopsies) of areas that look suspicious/diseased. Those samples are examined in a medical lab and your doctor gets the results a few days later. It's the colon biopsies that they use to look for cancerous cells, not the colonoscopy itself. A colonoscopy does not necessarily involve biopsies, depending on what they're looking for. Hope this helps!
yes, I've had one and everything is clean as a whistle. Next checkup in five years.
Any test results should be discussed with your doctor. If you don't understand, ask more questions. If you're not satisfied with the answer, take the test results to another doctor for a second opinion.
You can't get answers from random people on the internet for something that is different for every individual.
Not sure about pre-cancerous lesions but polyps are the usual problem. 99% of tumors (edit; colon tumors) develop from these polyps and they are easily removed during the colonoscopy procedure. They are not sure what triggers them to change. Polyps tend to run in families.
I went to my doctor when I had the first signs of a noticable 'change' in toilet habit and had a colonoscopy very promptly. A watched the procedure 'live' on a monitor and spotted the tumor myself so I knew there was bad news coming! I had it removed using keyhole surgery, together with 8" colon and have been clear for 2 years now. No chemo or radiotherapy needed. The moral is get to your doctor promptly guys if you have anything giving you concern.
I had one a couple years ago. Found out I have UC. No cancer issues though. Although the prep may be unpleasant, the procedure itself wasn't bad. I slept the rest of the day anyhow. I was 25 when I had it done by the way.
