Colon Polyps

A polyp is extra tissue that grows inside your body. Colon polyps grow in the large intestine. The large intestine, also called the colon, is part of your digestive system. (Read about "Digestive System") It's a long, hollow tube at the end of your digestive tract where your body makes and stores stool.

Most polyps are benign, which means they are not cancer. But over time, some types of polyps can turn into cancer. To be safe, doctors remove all polyps and test them.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) says that you may have a greater chance of getting polyps if:

• you're over 50; the older you get, the more likely you are to develop polyps
• you've had polyps before
• someone in your family has had polyps
• someone in your family has had cancer of the large intestine

Other risk factors according to NIDDK include:

• eating too many fatty foods
• smoking (Read about "Quit Smoking")
• drinking alcohol (Read about "Alcoholism")
• not getting enough exercise
• being overweight or obese (Read about "Obesity")

Many times, you can have polyps and not even know it. But sometimes there are symptoms. Bleeding from the anus or blood in the stool can be a symptom. So can constipation or diarrhea that lasts more than a week. (Read about "Gastrointestinal Bleeding" "Constipation" "Diarrhea")

There are tests that can be used to determine if polyps are present. They include:

• Digital rectal exam - The doctor wears gloves and checks your rectum, the last part of the large intestine, to see if it feels normal. This test would find polyps only in the rectum, so the doctor may need to do one of the other tests listed below to find polyps higher up in the intestine.
• Barium enema - The doctor puts a liquid called barium into your rectum before taking x-rays of your large intestine. Barium makes your intestine look white in the pictures. Polyps are dark, so they're easy to see. (Read about "X-rays")
• Sigmoidoscopy - With this test, the doctor can see inside your large intestine. The doctor puts a thin flexible tube into your rectum. The device is called a sigmoidoscope, and it has a light and a tiny video camera in it. The doctor uses the sigmoidoscope to look at the last third of your large intestine. (Read about "Flexible Sigmoidoscopy")
• Colonoscopy - This test is like sigmoidoscopy, but the doctor looks at all of the large intestine. (Read about "Colonoscopy")

If polyps are present, they will need to be removed. Sometimes, the doctor will remove the polyps during sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Or you may need to have surgery. Removed polyps will be biopsied to test for cancer. (Read about "Biopsy" "Colorectal Cancer")

If you've had polyps, the doctor may want you to get tested regularly in the future.