CT scan results

[lisa45]

Hi my name is Lisa. I am 45. I was 43 when diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer. I am needing some help. I had a CT scan on Friday which I just got the results of. My doctor has not contacted me yet but the report states: Punctate low density lesions within the liver. These are nonspecific and may reflect benign cysts however given the patient's history continued follow-up is suggested to document stability.

Has anyone had this before? Please help I am scared.

[PGLGreg]

Punctate low density lesions within the liver.

I got a follow up CT scan a month ago (after LAR in Dec. 2005 for rectal cancer) which reported "A 2 cm bilobate hypodensity is seen within the posterior aspect of the right lobe of the liver" and recommended ultrasound. I had the ultrasound which said "IMPRESSION STABLE APPEARANCE OF SLIGHTLY COMPLEX 20 X 16 X 13 MM HEPATIC CYST SINCE 11/29/05" (referring to previous ultrasound done just before my LAR).

So, it was nothing, in my case. I imagine you'll get a follow up exam of some sort?

[lisa45]

Punctate low density lesions within the liver.

I got a follow up CT scan a month ago (after LAR in Dec. 2005 for rectal cancer) which reported "A 2 cm bilobate hypodensity is seen within the posterior aspect of the right lobe of the liver" and recommended ultrasound. I had the ultrasound which said "IMPRESSION STABLE APPEARANCE OF SLIGHTLY COMPLEX 20 X 16 X 13 MM HEPATIC CYST SINCE 11/29/05" (referring to previous ultrasound done just before my LAR).

So, it was nothing, in my case. I imagine you'll get a follow up exam of some sort?

Greg, thanks for your reply. I did talk to my doctor finally yesterday and he has ordered a liver ultrasound. I guess what bothers me is that there is not one to compare to. It seems like if you, the patient, don't stay on top of things then you are just out of luck. With all that I have been through I have NEVER had a CT scan. A colonoscopy is what detected my cancer. I have only had CEAs done.

I will have this ultrasound done Thursday so I guess we will see. Pray for me.

Lisa

[PGLGreg]

I guess what bothers me is that there is not one to compare to. It seems like if you, the patient, don't stay on top of things then you are just out of luck.

The bright side is that the spots on your liver may have been there all along, since there are no previous pictures to say different.

I don't think my oncologist would ever omit a diagnostic if he thought there was a reasonable chance it would reveal some problem. He didn't think there was a need to do CT scans on me for one year follow up, but he ordered them at my request. I just don't care at all how much insurance company money I spend when it comes to me.

Good luck, and may all your spots be cysts.

[Holly]

Lisa,

Welcome to the Colon Club and congratulations on your survivorship! As for you ultrasound, how did it go? I am hopeful that your liver is fine and you are still without evidence of disease! Keep kickin' a little cancer a$%!

Holly

[lisa45]

Thanks so much for everyone who replied.

Today 3/07 I saw my surgeon who did my colon surgery. He said that at this time they are saying it is a hemangioma. He is recommending a f/up ct scan in six months. If it is still there and they are still calling it a hemangioma he says no worries. Meanwhile I am having a f/up ultrasound tomorrow as ordered by my oncologist. So many different doctors, so many opinions!!!! Of course I can't help but worry for the next six months. Meanwhile I am scheduled for a hysterectomy on the 19th of March for the abnormality found on my remaining ovary. Please remember me in your prayers and I will keep you up to date.

[jennb]

Please don't settle on the diagnosis of hepatic hemangiomas. I started seeing my PCP 11/06 for multiple symptoms. Blood work showed elevated liver panels. I had an ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, mammogram, tagged red blood cell. Everyone said multiple (at least 11) hemangiomas. Finally got a referral to GI who did colonoscopy. My diagnosis 2/13/07--Stage IV CRC with mets to liver. I feel very positive about my treatment and recovery now. I just wish I had been more verbal and proactive with the PCP and not wasted 3 months to be able to start treatment.

Best of Luck and Many Prayers, Jenn

[missjv]

HI,
YOU NEED TO FIND OUT ASAP. I HATE TO SAY IT BUT MY 1ST SCAN SAID THE SAME THING AND I WAS STAGE 4 WITH LIVER METS. IM NOT TRYING TO SCARE YOU OR BE NEGGATIVE BUT PLEASE FIND OUT SOON SO YOU CAN QUICKLY START TREATMENT. IF IT HAPPENS TO BE METS DO NOT READ ANY STATISTICAL CRAP ON STAGE 4 FLOATING AROUND THE NET IT IS OLD, IT DOES NOT REFLECT THE NEW DRUGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR THE NEW TREATMENTS TO TREAT THE LIVER. RFA, LIVER RESECTION, SIRT SPHERES, CHEMOBILIZATION, AND ONE THAT BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE BUT NOT USED BY ALL IS HEPATIC ARTERY PUMP WHICH I HAVE AFTER LIVER RESECTION IM DOING WELL LIVER HAS NO SIGN OF CANCER. IF YOU DO HAVE METS PLEASE GO TO A LARGE CANCER CENTER WITH A LIVER SURGEON WHO WORKS WIH THE COLON DOCTOR AND AN ONCOLOGIST FOR TREATMENT. I HAVE READ THE LATEST ON STAGE 4 COLON CANCER THAT HAS ONLY SPREAD TO LIVER IF IT CAN ALL BE SURGICALLY REMOVED FOLLOWED BY ADJUVENT CHEMOTHERAPY THERE IS A 20 TO 45% CURE RATE AND A I FOUND THAT ON THE LIVER FOUNDATION WEBSITE. SO IF IT IS METS DON'T FREAK OK YOU CAN FOR A MINUTE BUT IT DOES NOT HELP THE SITUATION, DO ALL YOUR RESEARCH AND PLEASE GET MANY OPINIONS ESPECIALLY FROM A LIVER SURGEON HE OR SHE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL YOU IF SURGERY IS POSSIBLE NOT THE REGULAR ONCO.

MISSJV

[missjv]

HI,
ME AGAIN. I WAS ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED STAGE 0. CANCER REMOVED BY POLYPECTOMY 2 DIFFERENT PATH LABS STATED WELL DIFFERENTIATED INVASIVE ADENOCARCINOMA NO VASCULAR INVASION, NO COLON WALL INVASION AND CLEAR MARGINS. CEA OF 2. 1 WEEK LATER AFTER CAT SCAN LIVER METS WERE FOUND THEY TOLD ME AT 1ST OH NO WAY IS THAT FROM THE COLON YOU MUST HAVE CANCER SOMEWHERE ELSE WELL AFTER EVERY FRICKEN TEST ON EVERY PART OF MY BODY FINALLY A LIVER BIOPSY CONFIRMED COLON CANCER. I WAS IN A 4% BRACKET OF HAVING METASTATIC CANCER FROM A FRICKEN 1 1/2 MM SIZED POLYP. I HAD NO SYMPTOMS I WENT FOR COLONOSCOPY FOR THE HECK OF IT CAUSE I WAS ALMOST 40 AND HAD AN UNCLE DIE OF COLON CANCER. I CANCELED 4 APPTS BEFORE I FINALLY WENT AND BOY AM I GLAD I WENT. SO PLEASE DON'T WAIT 6 MONTHS FOR ANOTHER SCAN THAT IS A LONG TIME AND DEPENDING ON THE PATH REPORTS IF YOU HAVE AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF CANCER AND IT IS ALREADY TO YOUR LIVER ANOTHER 6 MONTHS IT COULD SPREAD EVEN FURTHER. AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO SCARE YOU OR BE NEGGATIVE IN ANY KIND OF WAY I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME AND I ALMOST WALKED AWAY FROM MY STAGE 0 DIAGNOSIS THINKING I WAS OK ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEGATIVE CEA. GOOD LUCK KEEP US POSTED.

MISSJV

[Joy]

Lisa: I had a "suspicious" CT scan on my liver which was noted before my surgery for stage III. My surgeon told me he checked my liver out when he was doing the colon surgery and saw 3 "cysts". He assured me that "lots of people have these type of "benign" cysts. They showed up on my post chemo CT scan with no change. I had a scare with my lungs showing 2 nodes, again repeat CT scans show no change - presumed that they have been with me for a long time.

I was told that the radiologist doing CT scans will note everything because they are being super vigilant, but lots of times there are pre-existing things which under any other circumstance (i.e. no past Cancer) they would just ignore.

Make sure that you do the follow up 3 month repeats. I was soooo scared about my past "lung node" report that I flew home to Canada from Florida. I had a clear NED report and I am praying that you will too!!

[Eliza]

Hello to all. My mom has just been diagnosed with colon cancer. She went in for a heart cath and found they needed to put in a stent. At that time she mentioned rectal bleeding she'd been having. She's gotten colonoscopies every year since she was 45 because her mother died of it. At every colonoscopy, she mentioned the bleeding (it's been going on for about 2 years) and they searched and never found so much as a polyp. Then, on this one, they found a tumor. It's on a stalk and is soft and very small and located low in the colon. A CT scan showed a spot on her liver. When my dad asked : you can take that out, right? The doc said, Well, there may be more than one spot. That makes no sense..there either ARE more spots or not....and why would he say one when really he meant many? Anyway, she's scheduled for a liver biopsy next week, allowing her enough time to be off the blood thinners she was on since they were going to put the stent in, but didn't because they want to know what's going on with her liver. Why is there so much confusion in the medical field with this? We are scared out of our mind about a biopsy she's to have a week from now. We are praying that it comes back benign in everyway. They said her colon tumor is "optimal" and seemed early...too early to spread! She does a family history though, with her mom. But she's been so diligent to be screened! How did this get missed? Reading other posts about benign liver spots is hopeful. I have made the mistake of looking up survival rates on-line. Bad idea. I feel like life is over! Why is this so frustrating?

[missjv]

hi eliza,
well hope all turns out well with your mom. unfortunately i had a small polyp that was cancerous and was told it had all ben removed by polypectomy my margins were clear, the stalk the polyp grew on was negative, pathology reports said i was low risk and no vascular invasion. well long story short i had 3 mets in my liver from that tiny little polyp. i had them surgically removed and am on chemo for 6 months. your mom needs to see a liver surgeon he will be the one to determine if they are mets if they can be removed or not. if it is liver mets it is not the end of the world lots can be done. do not read statistics they are not accurate.

missjv

[Eliza]

missjv, thank you for the words of encouragement. I am finding the looking online only seems grim...but reading entries in here paints an entirely different picture. I want so much for the spots to be benign! But thank you for the hopeful words. I am hoping that you are doing well and have support. We are all rallying around my mom and dad right now and doing everything we can to get the word out there about colon cancer. It is so scary to hear that your itsy-bitsy polyp could do that! It just shows that so much more research needs to go into cancer research. Too many people are being affected by this. I grew up without my maternal grandmother (my mom's mom died of colon cancer when she was only 46) and I WILL NOT have my twin daughters following that path. Her mom's was NOT found early, and by the time it was found, had spread throughout her body. AND it was way back in the 1970's. As for myself, I plan on being very proactive and consulting my doctor immediately as to what steps I need to take to be safe. We continue to pray for her and for restoration. Thank you for your kind words.

[missjv]

hi eliza,
lots can be done now days for stage 4 colon cancer especially if the person is still in good health when it is discovered. i am currently disease free i feel great i have 6 more chemos to go through and 2 more chemos to my hepatic artery pump and then i am done with chemo i can't wait. those spots could very well be nothing a biospy will say for sure. if it is cancer and thats the only site of spread then she could see a liver surgeon about having them surgically removed which is the best chance for long term survival to get them out before they continue to spread. alot of people do great after resection and there is a hell of alot of them out there who have gone years and the stuff has never come back. like i said before stay away from the statistics because they are old. and everyone is an individual anyways. good luck to your mom.

missjv

[eliza]

My mom had her liver biopsy and all went well. During the actual procedure, they could NOT find any of the spots while using CT or Ultrasound. A second evaluation of the original CT that did show spots was done and decided (by a different doctor) that those spots were vascular-not cancerous.
The biopsy report came back in glowing health. It showed only fiberous tissue---ALL benign and NO cancer. The doctor took four samples in and around the area concerned, and nothing pathological turned up. Naturally, they are ordering MORE tests for her. She is very frustrated (as we all are right now). We knew they wouldn't be cheering us at this point, but good grief! You get a good test result and it's all--oh let's do more until we get a BAD one. We feel that a miracle occurred in having those spots disapear, and we are so very thankful. We are frustrated at this one particular doctor, but as my mom goes on to get her heart stent put in this week and will have consultations with surgeons for removal of the colon tumor (which was seen to be very small, soft, and VERY low in the colon) they will be looking for a NEW doctor for any future concerns with the liver. She may go ahead and do an MRI of it to rule anything out, but at this point they've had a Non-cancer second opinion, a completely healthy biopsy, AND a perfectly normal and non-pathological ultrasound of her ENTIRE liver. So it's just like, you know the docs are watching themselves for malpractice, but when will it be enough? How many tests do you have to go through before they say "Gee, guess we were barking up the wrong tree there, huh? " and move on? Frustrating.