They found polyps. Now what?

So, you've just had a colonoscopy, and I tell you we found polyps. Most people immediately think, "Is this cancer?" In most cases, however, finding a polyp is actually good news.

Polyps are small growths that develop on the lining of the bowel. You usually can't feel them, and most people don't have any symptoms.

The reason we care about them is that many bowel cancers develop from polyps. But this process usually takes years. So, when we find and remove polyps during a colonoscopy, we're usually not diagnosing cancer — we're helping to prevent it.

Every polyp we remove is sent to the laboratory for examination. Some are called adenomas, which have the potential to develop into cancer over time if they're left untreated. Others have little or no potential to become cancerous.

There's also a group called serrated polyps. Some types of serrated polyps can be more difficult to spot and requirecareful examination during colonoscopy.

What happens next depends on several things: first, how many polyps you had; second, how large they were; and finally, what they looked like under the microscope.

Those findings help determine whether you need another colonoscopy and, if so, when. For some people, follow-up may be recommended in one year. For others, it may be three or five years, or no additional surveillance may be needed for quite some time.

The key point is this: for most people, having polyps removed doesn't mean you have cancer. It means we've found something that could potentially cause problems in the future and removed it early.

So, if you've had polyps removed and you're not sure what the results mean for you, it's worth having that conversation with your doctor. Because the right follow-up really matters.

Additional videos on a range of common conditions are available to view on the Gastroenterology Specialist Care YouTube channel.

Note, this video is not a medical consultation. Any medical information is general in nature and is not intended to provide individual clinical advice. You should contact your doctor or other healthcare professional in relation to any concerns they may have, as your own circumstances may be different.

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