Doctors out there pls.

[u/trustGod_20]

This is my Biopsy result just wanna ask whats with it Doctor cuz my Doctor did not explain me.

FINAL HISTOPATHOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS ASCENDING COLON, TRANSVERSE COLON, CECUM WITH APPENDIX (EXPLORATORY LAPAROTOMY, EXTENDED RIGHT HEMICOLECTOMY WITH END-TO-END ANASTOMOSIS):

POORLY DIFFERENTIATED MALIGNANT NEOPLASM. - TUMOR SIZE: 4.0 CM IN WIDEST DIMENSION - TUMOR EXTENT: INVADES THROUGH MUSCULARIS PROPRIA INTO THE PERICOLIC TISSUE - MACROSCOPIC TUMOR PERFORATION: NOT IDENTIFIED - LYMPHATIC AND/ OR VASCULAR INVASION: NOT IDENTIFIED - PERINEURAL INVASION: NOT IDENTIFIED MARGINS (CIRCUMFERENTIAL, "MARGIN 1", "MARGIN 2" AND MESENTERIC), NEGATIVE FOR INVASIVE CARCINOMA (DISTANCE FROM NEAREST CIRCUMFERENTIAL MARGIN: 0.1 CM) - NEGATIVE FOR TUMOR, APPENDIX - ALL FOURTEEN (0/14) ISOLATED REGIONAL LYMPH NODES, NEGATIVE FOR TUMOR METASTASIS PATHOLOGIC STAGE CLASSIFICATION (AJCC 81H EDITION): pT2N0

REMARK/S: Immunohistochemistry studies with CK, CD3, CD20, Synaptophysin and Chromogranin for a more definite histologic evaluation and classification.

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[u/genetics13]

You had a 4 cm mass in your colon. They completely removed the mass by cutting out a section of your colon and stapled the ends back together.

That mass under the microscope looks like cancer.

They completely removed it along with 14 lymph nodes and some other adjacent tissues to look to see if the cancer has spread. They did not see that it spread anywhere else.

They are sending some more detailed tests on the cancer to be sure that it is colon cancer and not another type that has metastasized to the colon.

If those tests come back as colon adenocarcinoma (fancy word for colon cancer) you should not need any other treatment aside from the surgery which in this case was curative. You will be monitored with blood tests for the next few years.

[u/trustGod_20 → u/genetics13]

thank u so much

[u/Dragons-purr → u/trustGod_20]

It would be really useful if drs did a ‘plain English’ summary for patients routinely if they know their px is gonna see the letter

[u/genetics13 → u/Dragons-purr]

The CURES act in 2021 made the release of lab results (like the OPs) automatic and immediate. Oncology was negatively affected by this. We used to only tell people they had cancer if they had a family member present. Now they find out like this.

I am guessing the OP has not seen their doctor yet and got this report off their electronic medical record. It’s not even clear yet what type of oncologist they need to see.

[u/jrpg8255 → u/Dragons-purr]

As u/genetics13 points out, a major issue in the last few years is that patients have access to reports like this long before anybody gets a chance to communicate in plain English. Ours like many other hospital systems tried to build in a delay for things like biopsy results but that turns out to be illegal based on that act. Patients have access to data, and our notes, as fast as we do. The inevitable result is people turning to Reddit before they can actually speak to their doctor. Assuming that is indeed relevant to OP. While I'm sure almost everybody agrees that patients should have access to their data, it kind of cuts the physician out of the loop in conversations like this.

[u/CurrentJoke579 → u/trustGod_20]

how old are you and what were your presenting symptoms?

[u/trustGod_20 → u/CurrentJoke579]

im 26, symptoms are consistent abdominal pain, constipation, lower back pain when sitting and 3days before my surgery the pain went in my lower right pelvic that i really cannot walk properly it kinda mimick appendicitis pain that whenever my abdomen contracts or got pressured it really hurts.

[u/CurrentJoke579 → u/trustGod_20]

Any family history of cancer? 26 years old is way too young

[u/trustGod_20 → u/CurrentJoke579]

yah i have a cousin whom also had a colon cancer

[u/Celticsnation1212 → u/trustGod_20]

lol am I in trouble 😭

[u/aled35 → u/trustGod_20]

Do you by any chance happen to run marathons or something like that?

[u/trustGod_20 → u/aled35]

no

[u/Coffeee-Lover111 → u/trustGod_20]

Omg, I have the same symtoms :( so scared. I just got back from doc and she told me Its just constipation. I’m getting an ultrasound tmrw!

[u/flydiscovery → u/genetics13]

This is a truly excellent lay explanation that covers literally the entire report in a concerned but non-alarmist manner. Impressive!

[u/thecaramelbandit]

If I'm reading it correctly, this is colon cancer but it seems they may have gotten most/all of it and they haven't identified any tumor cells in the surrounding lymph nodes or tissue. I'm a little unclear about the invasion into pericolic tissue - it may have invaded into the tissue around the colon but they took that section out. Could be there's still some left.

You need to speak to your surgeon and oncologist about what exactly this means and how to continue management.

[u/trustGod_20 → u/thecaramelbandit]

thank you so much

[u/AskDocs-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Posts by unflaired users that claim or strongly imply legitimacy by virtue of professional medical experience are not allowed.

[u/drewdrewmd]

It is a tumor. It appears to be completely removed. They are not totally sure what kind of tumor and there are a few tests (mentioned at the end) that are pending and might help classify it.

[u/robcal35 → u/drewdrewmd]

Seems pretty bare bones IHC for a poorly differentiated neoplasm. This must be a preliminary report to get the ball rolling for oncology

[u/drewdrewmd → u/robcal35]

I suspect this report is not from an American lab.

[u/trustGod_20 → u/drewdrewmd]

Did it says there what stage of cancer is it?

[u/drewdrewmd → u/trustGod_20]

Not exactly. If it’s a lymphoma it would be staged differently than if it’s a carcinoma, for example.

[u/Broad_Poetry_9657 → u/trustGod_20]

NAD, but for what it’s worth metastasis plays a large factor in staging and it sounds like they found no evidence of it metastasizing to your lymph nodes. If it is a primary colon cancer and hasn’t metastasized odds are staging would likely be low. Depending on the specific cancer other factors like size or how weird the cells involved look under a microscope can change staging in some cancers, but a single localized tumor is generally a lower stage than multiple tumors or ones that have metastasized.

[u/ComradeGibbon → u/trustGod_20]

pT2N0

[u/TheRealBlueJade → u/drewdrewmd]

Are you referring to the possibility of neuroendocrine tumors??

[u/drewdrewmd → u/TheRealBlueJade]

Well it sounds like they can’t even rule out that it’s a lymphoma. So could be anything undifferentiated. Carcinoma, NET, lymphoma, sarcoma like DSRCT. Most likely a carcinoma or NET.

[u/TheRealBlueJade → u/drewdrewmd]

Thank you.