Mild Hepatomegaly with fatty liver? Scared..

bala07

Hi
My mom finished chemo/rad treatment for stage3c Rectal CA in Dec. She had her third month follow up of ultrasound scan of abdomen and pelvis today and the report says "Mild Hepatomegaly with fatty changes".liver size is 158mm with increase in echotexture. IHBR and CBD are normal. What does this mean? Is it the indication of metastasis to liver? she is a non-alcoholic. Havent met the onc yet. Scared as to what would be this..

Also what should we check with our onc? what should be the next steps?
Thanks a lot for any help.
bala

tommycat

Hi
When you meet with the oncologist, you can ask what the range is for the numbers you were given (mild sounds like everything is still okay). Chemo throws everything out of whack, and sometimes the body needs a chance to excrete it before liver counts, WBC, and the entire blood panel comes back within "normal" range.
Pain meds can also contribute to the fluctuation.
I hope when you see the oncologist that you get some answers to this question, so that there is one less thing to worry about.
Take care

Sundanceh

Bala
Hepatomegaly means enlarged liver and mild hepatomegaly can be see without anything being wrong. Diffuse fatty change in the liver means that the body has deposited a fair amount of fat contained by the liver - can be from obesity or high level of fat in the blood.

I'm sure the onc will order some blood work and examine the liver enzyme levels. They will be able to tell you what the next steps in diet. And Tommycat had a point - with all the chemicals that her liver has had to process, this could be a direct correlation to that current diagnosis. Those levels might reverse themselves the next cycle.

As the chemo weans itself out of the body, she will have a chance to heal and the results could be different next time. Of course, discuss with the onc, but I wouldn't come unglued just yet.

-Craig