I had a colonoscopy last week and they did discover a tumor which I am expecting the biopsy back on anytime. Why do they have to confirm if a tumor is malignant with a biopsy. Is there any other kind of tumor in the colon other than polyps? I just assumed if you had a tumor in your colon it would be malignant.
any information would be appreciated. What is the size of colon tumor? My doctor said mine was about 3cm. but that size was not necessarily indicative of the possiblity it has spread. He also said tumors grow from the inside out so they could be larger than what shows up in a colonoscopy.
gwb

Hello! I recently had my first colonoscopy due to anemia. The doctor found and removed a small "polyp" which turned out to be a benign submucosal tumor. He told me they are pretty common and never become cancerous. I don't know the exact size, but it was quite small. Apparently there is no reason for concern at all with this type of tumor. I hope your biopsy turns out well!

Hi Tmlang,
Thanks for the information. I also had some polyps removed that were not cancerous. I also had a tumor, which I just got the biopsy results back on which turned out to be benign. Whewww!!! The results showed that the tumor was not even precancerous. They did several biopsies on different sections of the tumor. I cannot understand what kind of tumor one could have that was not cancer. (other than polyps) I certainly feel a burden of anxiety has been lifted from my shoulders, but at the same time feel even more for everyone who facing the same anxieties about their health. I almost feel guilty for being lucky and wish I could share some of that luck with everyone else. But I still don't know what are the implications for a non-malignant tumor in the colon. I will have a consultation with the surgeon later this week when I should know more. He said that I am probably still looking at colon resection surgery but there may be other options. So it is a mystery to me as to what is going on "inside and down there". I was hoping that someone else has had a similar experience and could give me some information.
gwb

Hello gbw123! I'm so happy to hear that your results were good! That is such a relief! I don't really know much about possible types of tumors, either. My doctor called mine a "submucosal leiomyoma" and said that they "never become cancerous". I didn't ask enough guestions I guess- I was very happy to hear the word "benign". I know that it looked enough like a polyp that he originally thought it was one. I have a picture of it and it looks like a little round smooth bump. It was removed at the time of the biopsy so I guess it could have grown and caused some kind of problem even though it was non-cancerous. I wish I had asked more questions so I could be of more help!