I'm a 28 y/o female. No health problems that I know of yet
About a month back I went to the doctor due to high blood pressure. They wanted me to get a ultrasound to make sure my kidneys were functioning so in the mean time I mentioned that I had an annoying "pokey feeling" under my right rib cage that they were also going to check.
So yesterday I went in to get the results of my ultrasound. It says their is a "fairly well circumscribed heterogeneous hypoechoic (dark) solid mass in the posterior right lobe of liver. Some linear echogenic foci within it. Some hypoechoic areas along the gallbladder fossa likely consistent with fatty sparking.
The Impression says:
Fatty liver. Solid mass in the right lobe of liver has nonspecific ultrasound characteristics and further assessment with CT is recommended. Likely focal fatty sparing along the gallbladder fossa.
The Doctor tried to tell me the first thing that came to mind for me wouldn't be a cancerous tumour but I can't help but be worried.
At your age, it's not likely cancerous. I know when I found myself in your position I wanted to research as much as possible. You can research Hepatic Adenomas, Focal Nodular Hyperplasia, and Hepatic Hemangiomas. Have you ever used oral contraceptives?
Yes, I have been on birth control now for close to ten years.
I know when the lady was doing my ultrasound she asked if I was on birth control and I found this kind of fishy. I really think it may be related to this.
The first thing the doctor is going to ask you to do is discontinue use of oral contraceptives. The hormones in BC are likely the cause of your liver mass. In fact, I would discontinue them now in the event that the growth shrinks without the hormones. Of course, consult your doctor first - but my guess is that they will tell you to go off of them. I believe this to be the case for the majority of us with various liver tumors.
I asked the doctor if I should go off the BC pill right away and he said to wait to see until I find out what it is. I have been wanting to go off them for awhile. I have an appointment today to get a pap test so i'm going to ask that doctor what her opinion is.
I went to another doctor yesterday cause I went in for my yearly pap.
Since I was there I decided to ask that doctor about it.
She didn't seem too sure if it would be a BC thing. She thinks it is more than likely just a benign mass on the tumour. Apparently if could be quite common and usually people can just live with them. It would probably be monitered for a couple years to make sure it's not growing too large. She read over the report and doesn't get any indication that they think it is cancerous.
I feel a bit better but am still scared about getting all the tests done.
I'm not trying to scare you at all, but even though they may be benign, there are still things to consider. For example, some tumors can rupture, some tumors (like a hepatic adenoma) can turn cancerous over time. These risks are obviously very small, but important to consider nevertheless. Also, if you plan on having children, hepatic adenomas can grow with pregnancy. Make sure you know the size of the tumor and have doctors figure out what kind of benign tumor it is so you know how to deal with potential risks.
A focal nodular hyperplasia and also possibly a hapatic adenoma. I am going to go off my estrogen birth control pills and go back for another ultrasound in six months to see if there are any changes.
