help with terminology

[iceis]

Hello. I posted this in a different category but I'm not seeming to get any responses so I'll try my luck again.

Just hoping to understand my scan a bit more and know what sorts of questions to ask my oncologist. Hes a bit evasive at times and though he's an amazing doctor, he often leaves me in wonder.

I've been being followed every six months to ensure stability in some "lung things" that.are.extremely small and have remained stable since last Jan. They are also keeping an eye on my liver as since chemo I have been diagnosed with.fatty liver.

Last scan reported a new 4mm focal liver lesion that wasn't previously seen on my last 4 scans, and noted "low volume retroperitoneal lymphodenopathy" with a "recommendation to correlate with ultrasound.

I'm unsure what this means and I just want to be prepared for what they are looking for. Does this sound like a recurrence? Or would a recurrence normally cause more lesions? I can't find to much info on the significance of retroperitoneal lymph nodes or the normal volume and most.everything I read says tiny lesions are.often benign ... but being scanned so often in my opinion would mean things would be found when they are still tiny, no?

If any of the.experts could help me out I'd be so.appreciative. my ultrasound isn't until the.20th and of course I'm mighty nervous. Just.want to be prepared.

[SoConfused]

hi there - I am not an expert ... and don't have any personal experience but just wanted to offer my understanding of the terminology since nobody else has chimed in and bump this topic up.

Lymphodenopathy generally suggests swollen and/or enlarged lymph nodes ... in this case, suspected enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes. They are likely going to do further testing to determine whether this presentation is related to cancer or not.

Was this a PET scan? I see they're suggesting to correlate with ultrasound so wondering what type of a scan you had done.

Wishing you all the best as you explore this further and hope it turns out to be absolutely nothing.

[iceis]

Thanks so much for responding. No. I have never been given a pet scan .I asked my oncologist and he said the fact that cea levels have remained normal, he doesn't think pet will be approved. Though, cea was never a diagnostic tool that worked well with me. It has always remained between .8 and 1 even at diagnosis.

The lymphodenopathy was discovered on a Ct scan with contrast.