1.4 cm lesion found on us, but different on MRI-SCARED-HELP!! - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

dawnmn · 03-30-2008, 07:17 PM

I had a lumbar MRI without contrast done back in January to check for a possible herniated disc, as I had been having some low back pain. Everything came back normal, no herniations. However,There was 'an incidental finding of a tiny cyst within the liver' that the radiologist found. There was nothing on the report that said I needed to follow up on this at all, and I left it at that. My gastro also told me that liver cysts were very common, and not to worry about it. About two weeks ago, just out of curiosity, I saw my gp and asked her to do a liver panel blood test on me again to double check everything. (I had had a complete cbc last November, and everything was normal then, including the liver panel.) She also recommended an epigastic us as well, and I had everything done. The bloodwork came back normal again, but not the us. The report said that I had a 1.4 cm liver lesion that did not meet the criteria of a simple cyst, and the radiologist recommended I have a pre and multiphase ct to characterize the lesion. I was completely shocked. I told my gp that I did not want a ct because of the radiation, and she suggested I wait until the end of June to have another us done to see if this lesion has grown. She did not seem concerned that this was cancer, as the lesion is hollow and not a mass, and my bloodwork was all fine. She also said that this could still very well be a cyst without the fluid in it. I asked about having an MRI with contrast, and she said I could go that route now if I didn't want to wait until June for another us. I'm really scared about this. I have an appointment next week again with my gastro to show him the us report and get his opinion, but in the meantime, I'm thinking the worst here. I'm 41, do not drink or smoke, and have no health problems at all. I should add that this lesion was not here a few years ago, because during my pregnancy with my daughter in 2004,I had an us of my gallbladder for some pain I was having and the lesion did not show on that report at all. So this is something new, and god knows where it came from. I don't understand how the MRI and us reports could be so different in their findings. Does anyone think this could be cancer? Would my bloodwork be abnormal, and wouldn't I be feeling unwell? I feel perfectly fine. Has anyone else been through something like this and everything was okay? I'm a nervous wreck, and any input would be appreciated!!!

nessie1 · 03-31-2008, 04:38 AM

hello.

well liver nodules! i have just had a liver resection due to a 7cm Focal Nodular Hyperplasia(FNH) tumor on my right lobe. my liver function tests were all normal. firstly i had an ultrsound which identified its a mass rather than cyst as no fluid in it, i then had 2 CT scans with contrast and a MRI with contrast which showed up what it was. i also have 4 smaller nodules on my left lobe which we are going to leave alone for now.
the liver cell adenoma thread is great, there are a few of us on there all with liver tumors who know exactly how you feel .
generally benign liver tumors are FNH, adenomas, and hemangionomas. its a very confusing time and quite hard to make a diagnosis. have a read on previous posts on the above thread or post on there any questions as im sure you wil get a lot of answers. please dont worry too much , a lot of these nodules can be left alone and will not harm you. some however need to be removed. you say yours is not a mass so that sounds like good news to me. also cancer should show in your blood work.

hope this helps!
nessie x

dawnmn · 03-31-2008, 05:03 AM

Thanks for your reply Nessie! First I want to say that I'm glad your surgery went well and your okay!!! Hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions! Was your tumor 7 cm right from the start when you had your us, or did it start out small and then grow? Did you have any symptoms to the FHN prior to having your us done? Do you know what can cause these growths with FHN? I was on and off birth control for many years, but have not been on it now for at least 8 years. Also, as I stated in my original post, my lesion or whatever it is was not present in 2004 during another us I had when I was pregnant. So I'm wondering if my pregnancy and all the hormones at the time caused this growth after my daughter was born. I know hormones can cause a lot of these benign liver growths in women. I'm hoping the MRI I will probably need will show exactly what this is. My gp did not say it was a mass, only that it was hollow, and it does not have any fluid in it like a normal cyst would. I guess if it was a solid lesion, it would be more worrisome. I never had any tumor marker bloodwork done for this, only an in depth liver panel with amalyse bloodwork that was all normal, and has been normal since last November. They did a cbc on me in November of last year, and also two weeks ago, and there were no changes in the liver panel part since November, which is good I guess. I imagine your surgery was very scary-but at least no cancer, thank god! That's what I worry about, that this is cancer that is not showing up in my bloodwork. Thanks again for your reply-I'll keep posting here with updates.

nessie1 · 03-31-2008, 07:04 AM

hi again,

thanks for the well wishes. i found my tumor myself last november after having one night of very bad abdominal pain, i found a hard lump and went to the docs where it was measured on US at 7cm.the pain was it bleeding they said! i had abdominal surgery 4 years prior to this and it was not there then . i totally understand your fear of cancer, thats ths first thing that goes thru your mind. my other tumors are all about 2cm each and will be monitored every 6 months by mri. the birth control is an issue. they do make adenomas grow but no definite link with FNH tumors. its all so confusing to be honest.

let me know how you get on and like i said take a look at the liver cell adenoma thread.

take care
nessie

bethegk7 · 03-31-2008, 08:00 AM

Hi Dawn, you should definitely follow up. You also read the other posts (one that is closed and one that is open) about adenomas and FNH. Also, ultrasounds do not use radiation!

best,
Beth