Cologuard and Colonoscopy came back positive: Waiting for my plan

Great news! Yay!

Hi my doctor called today. Said that he wants me to have another colonoscopy in October or November. He shaved the flat polyp but was not able to get it out completely during my last colonoscopy in early March .The polyp was not cancer but said it could become cancer. He wants to have another shot at it. So hopefully it will come out then.
Thank you

I so appreciate your update, @carol32605. It is great news that there is no cancer. I'm sure you are relieved.

I look forward to hearing how you are doing and how the procedure in October and November goes. I hope that he is able to get it out completely.

Will you post again with any questions or concerns?

Hello @rioa21,

I'm so pleased to hear your good news and I'm glad that you have some plans for follow-up and that you will be seeing your GI doctor next week.

If you are comfortable sharing more, would you mind sharing what type of "stomach issues" you are having? Are they related to the treatment you had for the cancer or were they existing prior to the cancer treatment?

I will. Waiting to hear if the colonoscopy will be on October or November. Thank you

My stomach issues began the second week of chemo and radiation. They called it radiation enteritis. Uncontrollable diarrhea. I lived on baked potatoes, toast and English muffins for months. I tried Imodium but was fearful of constipation. My tumor was in the anus and extremely painful. The cramping was awful. There were times when I thought I was going to vomit from it. The gastroenterologist gave me Dicyclomine and that helped with the cramping. One day, I woke up and the diarrhea stopped. Just like that. It was replaced by fecal incontinence. I don’t know which was worse. I now wear heavy duty sanitary pads 24/7. I saw the gastroenterologist yesterday and she said I have Proctitis. I will have a colonoscopy next week. I’m hoping, with time, everything will heal. The thought of living like this indefinitely is more than upsetting. Has anyone else had these issues?

Hello @rioa21

We do have other members who have mentioned Proctitis after radiation therapy including @mallika58 and @stmaximus. I hope that they will join this conversation with you and share their experiences.

Here is some information from Mayo Clinic's website about this condition: Radiation proctitis can begin during radiation treatment and last for a few months after treatment. Or it can occur years after treatment. In this article from Mayo Clinic, there are medications that can help with radiation induced proctitis.

– Treatment for proctitis caused by radiation therapy https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/proctitis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20376938

Did your gastroenterologist suggest any of the treatments mentioned in this article? What type of medications are you taking for this condition?

I’ve read a lot about different treatments for this issue. I’ve been taking Benefiber to “bulk” things up and Imodium to slow things down. They both help minimally. I’m having a colonoscopy next week. I’m hoping to have more answers and guidance to handle this problem better. I fear constipation due to where the cancer is. I’d love to hear from anyone else having these issues. I hope it’s not permanent.

I have had 15 colonoscopies, (I'm a polyp factory) . . . #16 in July (age 72 with a family history of colon cancer). Flat or sessile polyps are best removed by Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR). I was fortunate to have the Gastroenterology group that I had in MA hire a Dr. trained in EMR. I moved to CO recently and my MA Dr. recommended a group that he had trained with in EMR. Almost all of my polyps have been flat, . . .
Scraping is old school, . . . look up EMR. The process involves "raising" the flat polyp and then snaring it. Good Luck going forward, . . . I hate the "prep", but what's the alternative?

Thanks for the info. Will definitely look into it.
Had several colonoscopy's and never had a flat polyp or told that I had one near the appendix. Wondering if this was missed 5 years ago during last colonoscopy or not there.
Thanks for sharing.