liver lesion and lung nodule - looking for some help

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Aleksandra30
Aleksandra30 Member Posts: 34
edited September 2018 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Hello ladies!

I was diagnosed last year when I was 30, I just turned 32. I went straight into chemo, so I was never staged, but PET scan and MRI showed no lymph nodes. After chemo, I had mastectomy and I got cPR. I am still in herceptin/perjeta treatment until October 16, 2018. I had whooping cough earlier this year, skin cancer, and uterus bleeding issues. Because of the persistent cough, my primary doctor sent my for CT scan of my lungs; the results read as follows:

"Evaluation of the upper abdominal organs demonstrates a hypo attenuating lesion in the right lope of the liver measuring 9 X 7 mm.

There is a 2 mm left upper lobe pulmonary nodule."

Because this was done at outside facility, my oncologist submitted it for a read in my Cancer Center and they are taking their sweet time. I saw a pulmonologist yesterday for my cough and he said I need to repeat CT in 6 months for lung nodule. We looked at my PET scan from last year and the lesion was not present on the liver back then.

Has anyone had similar situation? Is there any chance that these are not mets? Any words of comfort are welcomed as I am literally panicking since Ive seen the results.

Thank you!

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Comments

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited September 2018

    Hopefully someone with lung or liver experience will add their take on this but for now I would be happy that the words “suspicious for metastases” are not mentioned. Good luck 🙂

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  • SSInUK
    SSInUK Member Posts: 245
    edited September 2018

    Hi

    I don't know about liver lesions but I believe I've read elsewhere on these boards of similar findings that turned out to be benign. I did myself have a lung nodule, they're not that uncommon and can be the result of an infection such as you had. Mine stayed stable for 12 months and they shrugged it off. Hang tight. Everything crossed for you.

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  • Aleksandra30
    Aleksandra30 Member Posts: 34
    edited September 2018

    Thank you so much ladies! My oncologist finally got the results of the CT and she is not worried, but sending me for MRI of the liver.

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  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited September 2018

    My pet/Ct scan in March showed 5 points of light under 1cm each. The doctor said they couldn't say for sure if they were mets but the treatment I was receiving for mets to my back would be the same treatment for the lungs. She said they might not even show upon on the next scan. Sure enough, my pet in July showed that two mets disappeared and the other 3 were significantly reduced. Past injuries or illnesses can muddy the water. Like we need additional stress piled on. Take care and hang in there. Hugs and peace.
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  • hapa
    hapa Member Posts: 920
    edited September 2018

    I had small nodules on my lung and had them rescanned at the end of chemo. They were determined to be "stable". I've come to the conclusion that it is not possible to determine definitively that those nodules are not cancerous. If they shrink, disappear completely, or just don't change, the could either have been nothing or have been cancerous and responding to treatment. If they grow, they are probably cancerous. There is no outcome that can assure me they're not cancer. So as long as I can breathe okay I'm just not worrying about it.

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited September 2018

    Lung nodules are very common. I have one too. That's really unlikely to be cancer.

    Liver nodules I don't know much about. Are you overweight or diabetic? Could it be fatty liver?

    PETs and CTs don't show the same things. PETs show rapidly dividing cells. They do a CT to determine the anatomy but it's not a CT like the one you just had. So the lesion could have been there but doesn't light up because it's not cancer.

    I hope the MRI clears things up for you.


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  • Aleksandra30
    Aleksandra30 Member Posts: 34
    edited September 2018

    hapa: not sure if they will grow, for the lung one, my onco just wants to repeat CT in 6 months. I have been struggling with whooping cough for a while now, so I hope this may be it!

    pajim: thank you! this gives me hope. I am not overweigh or diabetic. I've been a vegetarian for years and I drink only red wine and sporadically. I never head liver issues. I should probably cut on sweet stuff though.

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  • YATCOMW
    YATCOMW Member Posts: 664
    edited September 2018

    Someone told me once that if they turned us all inside out you would find all kinds of lumps and bumps......it's only because we've had cancer that it scares us so much. Most times it is all benign. I had several small lung nodules 13 years ago.....they watched them for a year and they did nothing so my oncologist wasn't worried.

    I hope this helps...


    Jacqueline


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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited September 2018

    The rescanning sounds pretty standard, though I understand the stress and the unknown. I know lung nodules are common, but I do not know as much about liver nodules. The rescan in 6 months sounds like a good plan, but you could always request a second opinion.

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