Stage IV colon cancer - liver cysts

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cancerqs
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:58 am

Stage IV colon cancer - liver cysts

Postby cancerqs » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:59 am

Hi everyone,

Hope 2019 has got off to a good start. A close relative has stage IV bowel cancer, with a metastasis to the liver. She recently had an op to remove both the primary tumour and liver met.

However, we have just seen the original liver MRI and it mentions additional "focal lesions" that are suspected to be cysts. Naturally, we are quite concerned.

Is it reasonable to ask that this is followed up/watched closely? I understand that cysts are usually solitary incidental findings. We have had negative experiences with some of the doctors, who have taken asking questions as being challenged, and I am nervous of asking them about this :( I am not sure who to approach with this question.

Thank you in advance!

mpbser
Posts: 953
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:52 am

Re: Stage IV colon cancer - liver cysts

Postby mpbser » Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:07 pm

The first thing I would do is get a copy of the pathology report and operative notes from the surgery. From these records, you can see what the surgeon did when he or she was resecting the liver. For example, my husband's liver surgeon did an intraoperative ultrasound inspection of the entire liver when he performed his surgery. He saw multiple hamartomas (benign tumors) and ablated them. Perhaps your relative's surgeon wedged a small cyst for biopsy. The pathology report will describe the histology of the specimen.
Wife 4/17 Dx age 45
5/17 LAR
Adenocarcinoma
low grade
1st primary T3 N2b M1a
Stage IVA
8/17 Sub-total colectomy
2nd primary 5.5 cm T1 N0
9 of 96 nodes
CEA: < 2.9
MSS
Lynch no; KRAS wild
Immunohistochemsistry Normal
Fall 2017 FOLFOX shrank the 1 met in liver
1/18 Liver left hepatectomy seg 4
5/18 CT clear
12/18 MRI 1 liver met
3/7/19 Resection & HAI
4/1/19 Folfiri & FUDR
5/13/19 HAI pump catheter dislodge, nearly bled to death
6-7 '19 5FU 4 cycles
NED

Deb m
Posts: 558
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:08 am

Re: Stage IV colon cancer - liver cysts

Postby Deb m » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:57 am

On several of my husbands pet and ct scans, they mentioned cysts in his liver, kidney and pancreas, all of which remained stable for over five years. Our oncologist at MDA told us from the start not to worry about them because it was very clear on the scans they were cysts, but of course I worried. He was correct, they never changed. My husband is over 8 years out and has been NED since surgery. Hopefully it's the same with you.

deb m


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