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Colon Polyps: Fast and Simple Facts

I’ve been thinking about colon polyps lately, and I feel like I’ve finally figured out a way to make them understandable. Here are some quick facts for you to keep in mind when it comes to colon polyps:

• A colon polyp is a growth on the surface of the large intestine.
• These types of polyps can be either flat or raised. Flat polyps, which are harder to see, are more likely to be cancerous than raised polyps.
• Some types of colon polyps can become cancer, while others are benign.
• Most who have colon polyps will not experience symptoms.
• Common symptoms include: diarrhea/constipation for more than a week and blood on toilet paper, on your underwear, or in your stool.
• When polyps are found, your doctor will likely remove most of them and test them for cancer.
• If you’re 50 years old or older, talk to your doctor about being tested for colon polyps.

How to Prevent Colon Polyps

Since there is no at-home treatment for colon polyps available, it’s essential that you do your part to help to prevent these growths from even occurring.  Following are some tips from WebMD on how to prevent colon polyp development.

• Quit smoking!
• Eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet.
• Use alcohol only in moderation.  This equals one drink per day for us ladies and two a day for all you gentlemen.  Just another reason to want to be a guy, eh?
• Maintain a healthy body weight.
• Take calcium supplements.
  

But these tips don’t guarantee that colon polyps will never develop in your body, so it’s important to have regular colorectal screenings, particularly if you’re at an increased risk for developing colorectal cancer or if you’re older than fifty years old.

 

 

Typical Treatment for Colon Polyps

So I’ve mentioned colon polyps in a few previous posts—what they are, how they’re detected…but how do you treat these nasty suckers?

Initially, if polyps are detected in your colon during a flexible sigmoidoscopy, you will have to go through a colonoscopy to see if there are any other polyps in your colon that need to be removed.  The larger a polyp is, the more likely it is that the growth will contain cancer cells and require removal.  If a polyp is very small, it might not be removed, due to your doctor’s discretion.  Most colon polyps can be removed during the colonoscopy.  If you have any adenomatous polyps removed, you will need to regularly have colonoscopies (every three to five years).  Yay!

If your condition worsens, then you may need surgery to remove large colon polyps that are attached to a large area of the colon wall.

Regular screenings for colon polyps are the best tools to use when trying to prevent colon polyps from turning into colon cancer. 

Seven Tests That Can Detect Colon Polyps

While colon polyps only sometimes lead to colon cancer, it’s important to take care of them if and when they are detected.  There are several tests and screenings used for colon cancer that can detect these polyps.  They are:

 

1. Fecal occult blood test – this test looks for blood in your bowel movements.  This test doesn’t detect polyps by itself but can be helpful in determining whether or not further, more extensive tests are needed.
2. Fecal immunochemical test – this test also indicates the presence of blood in your bowel movements.  Fewer samples are required for this test than are for the FOBT.
3. Stool DNA test – this test indicates changes to colon cells by looking at DNA cells in your bowel movements.
4. Flexible sigmoidoscopy – this test examines the lower 1/3 of your colon.
5. Colonoscopy – our old friend.  This test screens the entire colon for cancer and polyps.
6. Double-contrast barium enema – this test consists of an X-ray of the large intestine and can be used to screen for colon cancer.
7. Computed tomographic colonography – also called a virtual colonoscopy.  This exam takes pictures and X-rays of your entire colon.

 

Do you have any experience with any of these tests?

Colon Polyps: Growths in Your Colon

When you’re talking about cancer, it’s important to understand what all of the terms used mean.  I know that I have mentioned colon polyps before, and I wanted to take this moment to clarify exactly what this refers to.

 

What are colon polyps?  They don’t sound all that great, do they?  Well, they’re not always bad news, folks. 

Colon

polyps are growths that reside in your large intestine, and they are pretty common in adults.

 

Not all polyps are cancer.  In fact, most of them aren’t.  However, some of these growths can turn into cancer, although it takes years for that to happen.  Research studies have found that removing polyps can help to prevent colon cancer. 

 

So how do you know if you have colon polyps?  If you’re over the age of 50, you should have regular screenings for colon polyps.  However, if you’re under 50 years old, there are no symptoms that tell you that you are housing colon polyps.  These growths are typically found during screenings for colon cancer.

 

If polyps grow quite large, they can cause some symptoms, however, such as changes in your bowel habits and bleeding from your anus.

 

Have colon polyps ever been found in your colon?  Share your stories and concerns here.