Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf it's suspected that you have colon polyps, you're likely to start by first seeing your family doctor or a general practitioner. However, in some cases when you call to set up an appointment, you may be referred immediately to a gastroenterologist.
Because appointments can be brief, and because there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment. Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time you make the appointment, be sure to ask if there's anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet.
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medications, including over-the-counter medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements, that you're taking.
- Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions ahead of time will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. For colon polyps, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- Are there other possible causes for my symptoms or condition?
- What kinds of tests do I need?
- What is the best course of action?
- What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
- Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing me?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What Web sites do you recommend?
- What are the chances these polyps are malignant?
- If you find a polyp, how safe is it to remove during colonoscopy?
- If you find a polyp, when will I need another colonoscopy?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions at any time that you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over points you want to spend more time on. Your doctor may ask:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
- What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
- Have you or has anyone in your family had colon cancer or colon polyps?
- How much do you smoke and drink?
- Ahnen DJ, et al. Approach to the patient with colonic polyps. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- Ahnen DJ, et al. Epidemiology and risk factors for colorectal cancer. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- What I need to know about colon polyps. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/colonpolyps_ez/. Accessed June 14, 2009.
- Torpy JM, et al. Colon polyps. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008;300:1480.
- Fletcher RH. Screening for colorectal cancer: Strategies in patients at average risk. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 14, 2009.
- Levin B, et al. Screening and surveillance for the early detection of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps, 2008: A joint guideline from the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology. CA, A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2008;58:130.
- Colorectal cancer screening. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/colorectal-screening. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- How is colorectal cancer found? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2_1x.asp?rnav=criov&dt=10. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- Seitz U, et al. Endoscopic removal of large colonic polyps. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- How is colorectal cancer treated? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_4X_How_Is_Colorectal_Cancer_Treated.asp?sitearea=. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- Can colorectal cancer be prevented? American Cancer Society. Accessed June 15, 2009.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. June 19, 2009.
- MYH-associated polyposis. Cancer Net, American Society of Clinical Oncology. http://www.cancer.net/patient/Cancer+Types/MYH-Associated+Polyposis. Accessed June 19, 2009.
