Liver Lesions on Ultrasound

I have liver mets; they were diagnosed in May 2011.  So, I am your worst case scenario.  FYI:  Never had bloating or stomach upset and most of us with liver mets don't have symptoms.

Remember,  all they found was abnormalities on your liver and as I have discovered with my 20 something scans, we have as many lumps and bumps inside as outside.  It could be hemangiomas or many other things aside from cancer - the word hypoechoic is not diagnostic.  I also had a lesion on my lung that has never changed, and now it is believed to be scar tissue.

But, I understand your worry and fear.  If there is one thing I've learned since I was diagnosed with mets, is that there is absolutely nothing you can do about any of it.  I love this quote:    The only power you have is that within your mind.  Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia 

Whatever is there - is there.  Odds are it's not mets.  But if it is, you can't change it.  You can only change your reaction to this time of nervousness. 

So, how do you not obsess?  I will give you some concrete things to do.

The #1 thing is to stay off the Internet.  Dr. Google is a terrible diagnostician.  You always, always get what you are looking for when you google medical stuff, so if you think you have liver mets, you will find a million pages to confirm it.  What you don't know are all the other things that it could be, since you are not a doctor.  Since you don't know they exists, you never google for those and they don't come up.  Only cancer does.  So, stop googling.

Get outside.  Take a walk.  Walk your dog, go play with your kid, grandkid, stranger's kid.  Getting out of your environment helps clear your head, especially if it's out in nature when you can smell a flower or see a bird fly.  You may have dark thoughts like "I'm going to die and not have many sunsets left" but you will find that even so, you will feel better after walking.

Read a good book.  Not one about cancer or a woman who has cancer or whose husband died of cancer.  Find something light, even chick lit is good.  Immersing yourself in somebody elses live is a good way to forget fears for a time.

Shop.  I know this might be superficial, but I like to shop and find beautiful things to take my mind off myself.  Walking in a mall, seeing other people, being distracted - good things.

Friends.  Call a friend, watch a chick flick, share your worry and then start giggling.  Pop some popcorn, drink a beer, enjoy company.

Hot bubble bath, clean sheets.  Never understimate the power of fresh sheets. 

Did I mention stay off the Internet?  Stay off the internet.

Finally, have faith within yourself.  Whatever they tell you, you can manage it.  You will probably hear it's nothing but if you hear that it's mets you can manage.  All that stuff online about liver mets (that you shouldn't be reading) is wrong.  The statistics are old and there are women who get many years of quality life with liver mets.  But, you are not there yet.

Try to live within each hour, each minute.  Pay attention to where you are today, breathe out and get on with your life.

Good luck.  Post back with your results. 

Um, okay, the question was still in my browser so it was:

For the past few months, my stomach has been upset and I've been feeling bloated. I've been thinking (and hearing) gall bladder. My GP ordered an abdominal ultrasound on Friday. The report notes three hyperechoic lesions (nonspecific in appearance) on my liver, the largest being about 1 cm. My gall bladder is fine. My liver enzymes are all normal. My docs are following up with an MRI this Thursday. Needless to say, I am freaking out. I can handle either outcome, I just can't stand the waiting and obsessing. I've had other findings on scans that were all false alarms. They didn't freak me out like this one. Why is it so hard this time? How do I put it out of my mind until Thursday? I've already wasted two days of my life. I don't want to waste the next four.

And then the second post was:  

I would love to hear that someone out there had a similar experience and it turned out to be nothing...

 Just in case somebody finds it and has the same question....I worked hard on my answer!  

Thanks!  Those of us with mets have scans every three months (or more often in my case) and so we have to learn coping mechanisms or our life would be nothing but stress.

A little ativan never hurts either.  

Thank you Ann for responding to that woman, what you said was beautiful and very thoughtful.  The timing of this post is chilling.  My best friend was sent into a liver US for stomach burning, bloating and the radiologist said she has metastasized legions.  He sent her away saying she is healthy; her GP got the results and was aphalled by the radiologist statements and is sending her in for a MRI.  My friend is super scared, she thinks she has may have cancer, you hear mets and it sounds like cancer.  I assured her she'll get a dx after the MRI; what her radiologist said is not a dx!  Do you or anyone else reading this post have anything I can share with her to help ease her mind?  I already told her to stay away from Dr. Google.  She is a young mother of 2 and her hubby is serving in the middle east until Christmas.  Thank you.  

Okay, I hope you don't mind that I reposted your post.  I wasn't trying to offend you or anything but so many people share their fears the way you did, I thought people down the road might want to see what I had responded to.  And, there is nothing wrong with what you are feeling - it's normal.  We all have those moments of panic and fear but letting it take over is what must be avoided.

Please post the result of the test, okay?  I'll be thinking of you!