During a colonoscopy they said the tumor ‘appears’ benign. How accurate can they be based on appearance alone?
During a routine colonoscopy, a mass in the transverse colon was found and could not be reached to be biopsied. The person doing the colonoscopy stated it appears benign. The surgeon also said it does not look like cancer. A colon resection surgery still needs to be done and a biopsy will take place then.
I’m just wondering how accurate the doctors are when they say a colon mass looks benign based on the appearance alone – no biopsy. I’m concerned because the patient was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer diagnosis 2 1/2 years ago and I’m worried that it might have metastasized to the colon. I guess there is really no point in worrying though because we will find out soon enough.
They did tatoo the mass with India ink during the colonoscopy. They took several pictures and this is what the surgeon based his opinion on in regards to it appearing benign. The mass was a soft circumferential mass in the transverse colon and the colonoscopy report stated it was difficult to biopsy. During the transverse colectomy, they will send a piece of the tumor to pathology to determine on the spot if it is cancer. If it is cancer then they might have to remove more of the colon during the surgery.
Tagged with: appearance • biopsy • breast cancer • breast cancer diagnosis • colectomy • colon resection surgery • Colonoscopy • doctors • india ink • pathology • transverse colon • tumor
Filed under: Colon Health Questions
Denisedds (88)
It appears your doctor is being cautious and following the standard of care when growths which cannot be biopsied are found within the colon.
I am a colon cancer survivor and diagnosed with a hereditary condition called HNPCC/Lynch Syndrome. This syndrome involves predisposition to the following cancers: colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, ureter cancer, renal pelvis cancer, biliary tract cancer, brain tumors and certain skin ailments.
During my colonoscopy, the doctor discovered a large tumor on the transverse colon and two flat tumors. HNPCC is often found on the right colon and the transverse colon. The doctor was able to pull some of the large tumor for biopsy though couldn’t biopsy the smaller tumors. He tattooed them with India ink and made immediate referral to the surgeon.
The large tumor had invaded the wall of the colon and during surgery, it was discovered the cancer had metastacized into one lymph node. All but approximately six to eight inches of my colon was removed. As soon as I was strong enough, I underwent chemotherapy.
The surgery was in January of 2008 and today, as of my last surveillance tests, I am cancer free. My aunt, who is 84 years old, was first diagnosed twenty seven years ago and had a partial resection of her colon completed. At age 82, she again contracted cancer and had a more radical resection as well as chemotherapy.
Today, she is going to a gym three times a week and working out, as well as dancing several times a week. She puts me to shame.
There is hope, with early screening, diagnosis and treatment. Your doctor is apparently doing everything my doctor did, which resulted in saving my life.
Do a family history, individual, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters and any history of cancer with any of them. I’d be interested in knowing what it comes up with…
If you have any more questions on anything further I experienced, I would be more than happy to share with you, those experiences.
There is a reason why they say "Practicing" medicine. Nothing is guaranteed. Dr’s are wrong almost as often as right. (Some throw the odds the other way.)
If there is any tumor in your colon, may I suggest start taking a lot of Turmeric. It is a curry spice frequently used in India, where colon cancer is almost unheard of. It has shown great promise in, not only preventing colon cancer, but combating it when it developes. It also really soothes IBS symptoms and takes care of food poisoning symptoms within an hour or two. (6 capsule dose for food poisoning)
Check into it – it is beneficial for so much. If you like curry spices, you can add it to your food. I’m not too fond of it, so I take the sissy way out and take capsules.
Also, just for safety’s sake, start eating a very healthy diet and boost your immune system with herbs. It can make all the difference!
Best of luck
Christine
Usually a benign tumor is encapsulated, where as malignant tumors are more irregular and may grow into adjacent tissue. Also benign tumors usually have a poor vascular supply where as malignant tumors have a rich vascular bed supplying it with nutrients so it can grow rapidly. Both of these things could be determined by colonoscopy.
In most cases doctors are correct in their visual assessment of a tumor and if they can’t really tell they will say so. However, there are a few things in your statement I find disturbing. In this situation it would be customary to biopsy the tumor and tattoo it. If it could not be reached then it could not be well visualized either. So how was the doctor able to make an assessment? There is no reason the transverse colon could not be reached on a colonoscopy, as they should go well past this into the cecum. The only time this happens is when the tumor is too large for the scope to pass and in this case it would be cancer.
There is also no possible way the surgeon could make a clinical assessment, as they haven’t seen it. Even if he or she saw the pictures they usually do not make an assessment from pictures alone. And of course, if it could not be reached they could not have taken pictures. Once they do the colon resection there is no reason to do a biopsy, as they will have the entire tumor and your answers. I hope everything goes well for your friend. Best wishes.