Nervous about upcoming colonoscopy

[JoannaS]

I'm due my routine colonoscopy in a couple of weeks and I'm terrified! A polyp was found 6 years ago and I have to have subsequent checks every 3-5 years. I'd gone and got a referral this time last year but then found out I was pregnant so had to postpone. I'm scared of a couple of things - firstly, what if they find another polyp and it's been in there so long it's turned cancerous and secondly, I don't want sedation as I'm scared of being out of it and not knowing what's going on or what if I have a reaction to the drugs and never wake up! I know you're not put to sleep when you're sedated but both times I've had it before I've not remembered a thing and woken up in the recovery room. This was before my HA started and I didn't think anything of it. In fact, I wanted them to give me more drugs! Gone are those days! I'm too scared to sleep some nights in case I don't wake up in the morning so no way do I want to be sedated. But it's so painful I don't think I can do it without. What would you suggest? I've been worrying about it for a year now and just want it over and done with but really dreading it :(

[GlassPinata]

I am scared of that test too, and I've never even had one!
I know everyone is supposed to start having them at fifty, but I'm really nervous... not about the test itself, but about finding cancer. That kind of cancer really terrifies me.
Anyway, I'm sure you will be fine, since you already had one a few years ago.
My understanding is that colon cancer is extremely slow growing.
Even if you have another polyp, they can probably just remove it and that'll be it. Good luck.

[JoannaS]

Thank you for the reassurance, I appreciate it. I'm only 27 so find it worrying that I had a large polyp at only 21! I know they're just benign growths but if left for long periods of time they can change into cancer. It doesn't help that there are so many Cancer Research adverts around at the moment and cancer awareness stuff on programmes. I can't escape from it, especially as I'm at home on matenity leave at the moment. My dad died from bowel cancer in his 50s so this scares me even more.

[GlassPinata]

My understanding also is that many people have colon polyps, and only a small percentage would ever become malignant.
There's a good chance yours never would've. They just remove them all as a precaution.
Best of luck to you.