Polyp found: What's next?

@wendypeacock
I know it can be scary waiting. It is good they found the polyp and removed it.

I have a family history of colon cancer and when I was in my early 40s, I asked to get a colonoscopy. They gave me a hard time at first since I was younger than the typical age for the procedure (50+). After they did it, they found and removed the polyp. I don’t remember what the pathology showed but just glad it was found early and removed. They then had me come back every 5 years and after 3 more colonoscopies, no additional polyps have been found. I did not need any radiation or chemotherapy after they removed my colon polyp.

I do believe size matters when it comes to precancerous or cancerous polyps. I had a 2.5 cm suspicious nodule removed from my thyroid lobe and it turned out benign but they found a micro cancer elsewhere in my lobe. I did not need any radiation or chemotherapy because the entire lobe was removed with the micro cancer. They are now monitoring my left lobe for changes.

Removing polyps when smaller is definitely better. Your 6 mm polyp luckily falls in the smaller size category.

1. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/colon-polyp-cancer-risk
2. https://www.verywellhealth.com/colon-polyp-size-chart-8659874
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/colon-polyp-size-chart
4. https://www.healthline.com/health/colorectal-cancer/colon-polyp-size-chart
5. https://gastro.org/news/does-polyp-size-matter/

I had a pulyp removed last Friday and am waiting on pathology, just wondering if 1 6 mm pulyp could be cancerous?