5 polyps removed from Bush’s colon

Five small polyps removed Saturday from President Bush’s colon will be examined under a microscope for signs of cancer, but the White House said none “appeared worrisome” -- they are considered likely to be benign.

The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., will conduct the tests. Results will be announced by Tuesday and “will determine the final diagnosis and recommendations for future examinations,” according to a White House statement.

Each polyp was less than 1 centimeter in diameter, meaning they were probably caught before cancer could develop. The procedure took place at Camp David, Md., under the supervision of Bush’s physician, Dr. Richard Tubb.

The 31-minute exam, for which Bush was sedated, marked the second time he has invoked the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to temporarily hand presidential duties to Vice President Dick Cheney. He also did so five years ago, for the same medical procedure.

Bush transferred power, as required, with letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate President Pro Tem Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) informing them shortly after 4 a.m. PDT that “I am unable to discharge the constitutional powers and duties of the office of the president of the United States.”

Cheney, who was at his Chesapeake Bay vacation home in St. Michaels, Md., about 30 miles outside Washington, was acting president Saturday morning for two hours and five minutes, until Bush reclaimed his authority at 6:21 a.m. PDT.

Polyps are common among men 50 and older and can lead to cancer if left untreated.

Bush, 61, had two polyps removed in the years before he took office and was told to have a colonoscopy every five years. No polyps were found in 2002, and aides said he was exhibiting no symptoms of illness before Saturday’s exam.

“It’s unlikely that any of these five polyps will be a problem,” said Dr. David Weinberg, director of gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “But the gold standard is to have a pathologist look at them under a microscope after they’ve [been] sliced into thin sections.”

Weinberg said the best way to prevent cancer was to follow Bush’s example.

“Colon cancer screening is not as universally performed as it should be,” he said. “The normal biological direction that things go is from a normal lining of the colon to a polyp to a cancer. If you don’t have polyps, or if you have them and remove them before they have time to turn into trouble, that markedly reduces the chance that anyone will ever develop colon cancer.”

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the president was administered a low-dosage sedative and was never fully unconscious. He awoke several minutes after doctors cut off sedation and ate breakfast with White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, White House Counsel Fred Fielding and national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley.

“The president was in good humor and will resume his normal activities at Camp David,” Stanzel said.

The surest sign of that was Bush’s plan for Saturday afternoon: a bike ride through the wooded hills of the presidential retreat.

peter.wallsten@latimes.com