One year scan results

AndyE
AndyE Member Posts: 51

I am one year out from my partial nephrectomy...stage T1B grade 3 removed from right kidney.  I had my first set of scans a week ago.  The only thing they found was a small 3mm focus of lew density on the right side of my liver near the dome.  They recommended an MRI of the liver to check it out.  My doctor doesn't seem very concerned about it, and several friends in the medical field have told me that is probably is not anything to worry about.   i am hoping they are right!  I can already feel those horrible feelings of anxiety setting in again.

 

Andy

Comments

  • Anxiety is normal.  But try

    Anxiety is normal.  But try not to worry.  My 1.5 year scans are January 18, results January 22.  I have been having pain on the side of my incision.  Anxiety is there, and I am worried.  Embarassed

  • marosa
    marosa Member Posts: 334 Member

    Anxiety is normal.  But try

    Anxiety is normal.  But try not to worry.  My 1.5 year scans are January 18, results January 22.  I have been having pain on the side of my incision.  Anxiety is there, and I am worried.  Embarassed

    Hi Andy

    Hi Andy!  It's a no-no to worry just having had your check-up!  If your Doctor felt it wasn't anything to worry about, try not worrying and save it for the next check-up!  I only say this because I know we all get scanxiety and all kinds of "Xieties" just before our check-ups.  I had mine 2 months ago and there was something similar to whatt they told you and I was told not to worry and I've been doing a not so bad job about it!  Please relax.

    Positive_Mental, is it pain or more like a tighness and soreness on that side?  I have this sometimes when Im very tired or the weather is too humid. Wishing you a NED results on your coming scans.

  • Allochka
    Allochka Member Posts: 1,062 Member
    marosa said:

    Hi Andy

    Hi Andy!  It's a no-no to worry just having had your check-up!  If your Doctor felt it wasn't anything to worry about, try not worrying and save it for the next check-up!  I only say this because I know we all get scanxiety and all kinds of "Xieties" just before our check-ups.  I had mine 2 months ago and there was something similar to whatt they told you and I was told not to worry and I've been doing a not so bad job about it!  Please relax.

    Positive_Mental, is it pain or more like a tighness and soreness on that side?  I have this sometimes when Im very tired or the weather is too humid. Wishing you a NED results on your coming scans.

    Andy, it seems that anxiety

    Andy, it seems that anxiety is unavoidable, but hopefully it will be short-lived.

    Could this focus in liver be a cyst, for example? Very frequent finding, We had similar situation with my partner - on later scans a cyst appeared, I was worried about mets, but it was confirmed to be a cyst, which was always present, simply not described on earlier scans as clinically not important.

  • mrou50
    mrou50 Member Posts: 389 Member
    Hi

    Andy it is perfectly understandable to be nervous, but try to relax the human body has growths all over and 99.9 percent of the mean nothing.

  • pamstayner
    pamstayner Member Posts: 111 Member
    Worry never fixed anything....

    Kidney cancer is a slow growing bugger.  If your doctor does not seem worried... then why would you worry?  I worry when my Doctor is worried.... he knows more than me about this stuff.  (if not I'm going to fire him)

    Although I am learning... a lot... and my Oncologist knows that now.  I am a Smart Patient after all... and I know all these kidney cancer people and their drugs, sympltoms, treatments, just everything thanks to this site, and Smart Patients too.  

    I learned nobody gets excited untill what they look at is in cenimeter range.  a 3mm focus of LOW density is like a star twinkle .... they notice, and get excited at a full moon.  Relax, breathe deep, and sleep good.  You have lots of time for the focus to disappear or not.... 

    Pam

  • Pandabear1011
    Pandabear1011 Member Posts: 123 Member
    Anxiety Sucks!!!

    Hi, Andy... My tumor was also a T1b Grade 2. Had my nephrectomy May 2014. My scans are coming up on January 13th. My ct scan from January 2015 also mentioned a hypodensity on my liver. But, also said likely a benign cyst. My doctor said not to worry about it.  Pam, I love your description that it's a star twinkle versus a full moon. That actually gave me some comfort. Hopefully it gave Andy some comfort too! Thanks for posting..:)

  • Footstomper
    Footstomper Member Posts: 1,237 Member
    Size does matter

    And yours  is a cutsey tiney itsu bitsy lumpy thing. The docs will sort it out

    You shoulds worry about scarey words

  • Jojo61
    Jojo61 Member Posts: 1,309 Member

    Size does matter

    And yours  is a cutsey tiney itsu bitsy lumpy thing. The docs will sort it out

    You shoulds worry about scarey words

    As everyone else here has

    As everyone else here has advised.....try not to worry about it. Leave it to the doctors to monitor it. Worry won't do you any good....in fact it does more harm!

    Enjoy the good news!!

    Hugs

    Jojo

  • Skagway Jack
    Skagway Jack Member Posts: 224 Member
    Same story different year.

    Andy,  I too had a T1B grade 3 tumor.  Mine was removed in October 2013 and so far I have been NED.  After my intial diagnosis they discovered a cyst in my liver (roughly 1cm)  and a smaller cyst on my remaining kidney.  Both were judged at the time to be too small for conculsive classification, but probable cyst.  In the last two years the liver cyst has remained the same and the kidney cyst has grown slightly. I will be getting a CT tomorrow; the first I have had with IVP contrast since early 2014.  Anyway I get your concern, but I have read and I have been told by multiple doctors that such cyst are common and normal.  One thing you will find if you stay around here, there are a lot fine folks and some great insight on staying positive. 

    Cheers ,  Skagway

  • foroughsh
    foroughsh Member Posts: 779 Member
    Anxiey is normal  but please

    Anxiey is normal  but please fill all your freetime  by doing simething you love so your mind won't have enough recources(time) to hurt you.

    You're stage one, keep telling yourself and the only treatment majority of stage one ers need is the surgery,nothing more.

    Forough

     

     

  • Sheeple
    Sheeple Member Posts: 19
    I discovered an easy way to

    I discovered an easy way to avoid the scanxiety. Avoid the scans. Obviously this is not an option for many of us. But my spot of cancer was a little old T1a G2 thing, so my surgeon told me I wouldn't need any further scans or follow up unless I had some symptoms that warranted it. Of course at the time I thought he was a quack when he told me that. Since everyone on here was talking about their follow up scans and T1a G2 still sounded scarey to me. I found me an oncologist that agreed to do annual chest ct scans. Then a funny thing happened as I waited for that first year. I came to understand my cancer and lost all the fear of it. When it came time for my first follow up scan I called them up and canceled. I really feel I don't need the follow ups or associated worry. I worry enough as it is about other things.

  • AndyE
    AndyE Member Posts: 51
    Thanks everyone.  I truly

    Thanks everyone.  I truly appreciate the support.  I have a good friend that works at a different hospital than the one I go to for screenings.  He is the head of nuclear medicine at that facility, and I showed him the report from my scan.  He showed it to a radiologist friend of his, and both agreed that the location of the blip alone makes it highly unlikely that this is a met.  The radiologist said that mets generally do not start in this local, and that if it were a met, he would be extremely surprised.  Recommended to have it checked via MRI to make sure, but not to worry, just as all of you have said.  Thanks again for the comfort.  You are all incredible people.