How worried should I be?

Misty99

I was diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer with no nodes involved in April and had a ct scan to do staging. The report stated that there are multiple lesions in my liver too small to characterise but there are no suspicious rim enhancing lesions in liver. It stated there are no ct features of hepatic metastasis and the small lesions are probably cysts. I am going crazy at the moment cos I am so worried they might not be cyst and are mets. Haven't had a good sleep in days. My question is how common are these cysts? I have two young children under three at home and the thought of not seeing them grow up is killing me...

shoppygirl

Misty. I don't have anything on the liver but I have a lung nodule they are watching. From reading the boards on this website there appears to be many women who have found something on their liver or lung during the initial scan process that turned out to be nothing. From what I know about these kinds of things, if the radiologist thought they looked concerning they would biopsy them ASAP. That is what my oncologist told me. . I know it is hard not to worry but it seems that lots of us have things growing inside of us that we would never know about unless we had BC. What are their plans with this? Are they just going to keep an eye on it?

Misty99

Thanks for replying. My Onco and BS don't seem concerned and don't seem to suggest to do anything. My Onco did say I can have another scan if I like after chemo to find out, but I am not sure i really want to know. I am not ready to be told that I am terminally ill. Hoping the whole thing is a nightmare but i can't wake up from it ... coping very badly these days and keep breaking down..

kerrie389

Misty i have numerous lesions in my liver that are cysts, one of them being about 5cm. Apparently they are very common and my Dad has them too. 

dutchiris

When I had the CT for staging prior to treatment, I had several liver lesions that were felt to be cysts or hemangiomas (both benign). I also had an US of the liver where they were determined to be cysts. About halfway through my neoadjunctive chemotherapy I had another CT scan which showed these lesions to be unchanged also indicating they were not metastatic bc.



There are many things present in our bodies that we would never know about if it weren't scanned for other reasons.

shoppygirl

Misty

I know it is very hard, I have been through the same thing with my lung nodule. I am going for a follow up scan in a month and still worry about it. Take some comfort that the doctors know what to look for with these types of things and if they thought it was something that they would act on it. Feeling very emotional before/during chemo is very normal. I was the same way. I am only three weeks out from my last treatment and am still very emotional. It is just part of the process especially when you still have kids to raise like we do. Take care. Hugs.

Traii

Misty, i know its hard but stressing is going to make u go crazy.

I had liver lesions prior to bc. Known to be from the contraceptive pill i was taking for several years. Since being off it they have shrunk or disappeared. As for my lung nodule, thats scarring from previous rads i had 17 years ago! I didnt know it was there nor the liver lesions until routine scans were requested for something else. Like Sharon said, we wouldnt know about these if we werent having scans for other things!



Try to stay positive and be happy with your children.

Misty99

Hi all, thank you for your replies. You ladies are wonderful. I am a few days away from my last chemo treatment, and while I am glad its coming to an end, I feel scared losing the security blanket. Sounds crazy right.... Hoping these feelings get better with time ...

TectonicShift

My docs told me before the scans that there can be lots of nodules and spots and things on the scans that are not cancer, and they said, "Don't freak out if some things are noted on the report. People have all kinds of nodules on their bodies, akin to skin tags and such.  It most often is nothing."

208sandy

I've had a nodule on my lung for four years (that I know of) and it hasn't "done anything" in that time.  As for feeling fragile because you're about to end chemo - I felt the same way but the feeling does go away - honestly, after what our bodies (and minds) have been through it's no wonder.

Sending hugs...

Misty99

Thanks for the posts ladies... I am trying to fight the urge not to panic or let my imagination to go into overdrive. I know I should trust the report in that there is nothing suspicious, but the statement that they can't characterize these lesions keeps coming up in my head. How do you ladies cope with the stress? Could someone share some tips? I can't go in like this...

SaturnRing

Believe me, you will get peace of mind if you have CT after the chemo and confirm that they are indeed benign. I had a lung nodule detected during staging and they did a repeat CT after Chemo and determined it was indeed a benign nodule. It was 3 mm so too tiny to be biopsied.

My reasoning for accepting the repeat CT was, I was taking chemo so I was expecting the nodule to stay the same or vanish, so either way I would have been happy.

shoppygirl

Misty

You could always ask for a second opinion. Sometimes hearing it from another dr might put your mind at ease. I am a huge worrier but I remind myself that just because something shows up in a scan does not mean that it is cancer. Unfortunately there are no guarantees for anyone with this disease. Just look at the amount of women on this board that have had perfect scans in the beginning and no nodes and then they have a recurrence. At least you know what is inside your body now and it is being monitored. I am the same as you and think about my abnormality constantly but I think this is something that only time will heal untill I can trust my body again .

fightinhrd123

Same thing happened to me...My Onc didnt even tell me i happened to glance at my chart.  I freaked and he said they were nothing, not too worry...Im five years out so so far hes been right 

Misty99

Hi Saturnring,



I too at times at tempted to ask for a scan to get a peace of mind. But then I am not sure i can face it if I learn that I am stage iv... I am certainly not helping myself when I google abt it, cos i read that multiple lesions usually point to cancer mets.. This whole thing is making my life so miserable ...

Fightinghrd, congrats in being five years out.. Hope to get there too