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Had my first colonoscopy Tuesday. I had 3 polyps removed that were nearly 1cm in width.
Now (Friday) I have a message on my answering machine from the office of a colon surgeon that my APRN referred me to. I'm guessing the biopsy didn't look good.
From a limited bit of research, looks like the next step might be another colonoscopy or a CT scan to determine if there is cancer in the colon around the location where the polyps had been.
Being a skeptic, I always like to get some knowledge before going to see a doc, especially a surgeon, that makes more $$$ by doing more procedures.
I'll just say here are some good foods to help fight colon cancer (and prevent it, even if you don't have it). Here's the list of fooks with more details in the link below:
--Beans & legumes, especially black beans.
--Berries, especially black raspberries.
--Carrots, coffee.
--Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage.
--Nuts & spinach.
Foods to avoid:
--High glycemic load foods: white rice, noodles, cake, sugar and various junk foods.
--Red meat: beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal, venison, goat.
--Processed meats: ham, sausage, bacon, deli meats, canned meat, & sliced lunch meats, including chicken & turkey.
--Alcohol.
And here's a really good and practical cookbook to help you learn some new and not super complicated recipes so that you can implement a new eating plan (if necessary--and at least 70% of us need to--that's a conservative estimate).
I'll just say here are some good foods to help fight colon cancer (and prevent it, even if you don't have it). Here's the list of fooks with more details in the link below:
--Beans & legumes, especially black beans.
--Berries, especially black raspberries.
--Carrots, coffee.
--Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage.
--Nuts & spinach.
Foods to avoid:
--High glycemic load foods: white rice, noodles, cake, sugar and various junk foods.
--Red meat: beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal, venison, goat.
--Processed meats: ham, sausage, bacon, deli meats, canned meat, & sliced lunch meats, including chicken & turkey.
--Alcohol.
And here's a really good and practical cookbook to help you learn some new and not super complicated recipes so that you can implement a new eating plan (if necessary--and at least 70% of us need to--that's a conservative estimate).
This is more relevant to some sort of alternative medicine forum. There is a germ of truth behind what you mention, but it's based on epidemiological studies of foods associated with an increased (or reduced) risk of colon cancer, not as a treatment, at least not outside alternative medicine circles. And sadly, the change in risk, depending on what you eat and what you don't, isn't very big anyway.
My husband had his 1st colonoscopy over the summer. One large polyp removed. Two days later got the call that it was cancer. The next steps for him were CEA blood test, CT scan and mri.
Follow up with the doctors as advised. I”m pretty sure the surgeon wants to save lives more than making a bunch of money.
Get checked for food allergies: celiac disease (there are mild cases, so you wouldn't necessarily know you had it), and other food allergies. Food allergies can provoke colon cancer, if you eat some of the foods you're allergic to frequently. Food allergies can be genetic, too.
This is more relevant to some sort of alternative medicine forum. There is a germ of truth behind what you mention, but it's based on epidemiological studies of foods associated with an increased (or reduced) risk of colon cancer, not as a treatment, at least not outside alternative medicine circles. And sadly, the change in risk, depending on what you eat and what you don't, isn't very big anyway.
Please don't mistake my list of foods to eat as a substitute for medical treatment! I didn't mean to say or imply that!
But I vehemently disagree that changing what you eat has only minimal effects.
Even a New York Times article from a few years ago stated "poor diet is the leading cause of mortality in the United States". I'm not generally a NYT fan, but this is simply a fact.
The evidence is overwhelming that those who have a plant based, non-processed, whole foods diet have much lower rates of death from all the major things killing us today: cancer, stroke, heart attacks, diabetes--not to mention alzheimers and dementia (and Covid!). People who follow such diets are much more likely to not only live longer, but live better--with less chance of disability and chronic disease while alive.
Of course, if you have cancer, I would never ever rely on diet alone. But I'd never ignore it, either. And most doctors aren't going to mention much about the imporance of eating well, or coach people on how to do so.
Most doctors get absolutley no training in nutrition. All they know is drugs and surgeries.
There's nothing alternative about the diet I'm talking about. Before fast food, mass production of meat, and processed foods, it's how pretty much everyone everywhere ate. Many of the modern "improvements" to the food system haven't been improvements at all.
Get checked for food allergies: celiac disease (there are mild cases, so you wouldn't necessarily know you had it), and other food allergies. Food allergies can provoke colon cancer, if you eat some of the foods you're allergic to frequently. Food allergies can be genetic, too.
That's interesting. It's my understanding that people with food allergies are less likely to develop colon cancer, but have the same risk of dying of fatal colon cancer....at least according to this article:
That's interesting. It's my understanding that people with food allergies are less likely to develop colon cancer, but have the same risk of dying of fatal colon cancer....at least according to this article:
IDK. I had a family member with undiagnosed celiac disease. He got colon cancer. The cancer was removed, but it eventually metastasized. So he didn't die of fatal colon cancer, you could say, technically. We know he had undiagnosed celiac disease, because his son eventually was diagnosed with celiac, and he had the same symptoms his dad had his whole life, without knowing they were signs of celiac.
After being diagnosed, the son got tested for other food allergies, too, and now avoids all foods he's allergic to, so he probably won't get colon cancer.
That's just one example, but I don't doubt that there are more people like that out there.
Almost all colon ca starts as a benign polyp that developes ca cells near the tip...Think of a polyp as a mushroom or maybe a golf ball sitting on a tee. The cancer cells woud be only seen on the "ball" and not on the "tee" if caught early. ...If they're also seen spreading down the stalk, or maybe if the polyp is particularly big (like yours), then maybe a referral to a surgeon would be in order AFTER you've had additional tests to see about metastases (CT/PET/MRI-- no sense in planning big surgery if you already have big problems with mets-- unusual when ca is limited to a polyp.)
If the ca cells were limited to the tip of the polyp, then the polypectomy at colonoscopy woud be curative. The colonoscopy should be repeated in 3-5 yrs.
Age? Younger people tend to have more aggressive cancers and may benefit from more aggressive management. The elderly (80+) can often get by with doing the bare minimum for treatment.
Unless you're an Eskimo living on a diet exclusively of smoked fish, don't bother worrying about diet. Colon ca is very common, so it's not unusual to have colon ca and some other disease. (which you probably know you have already). There are a few conditions, also not likely to be hidden from you, that are associated with higher rates of ca, but if you had them, your doc would have been encouraging early & frequent screening...At this point, knowing you have ca, it's like knowing who won the horse race-- no need to keep looking at the racing form to handicap the race.
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