Results from PET/MRI

Kaleena

So the PA returned my call today and told me about my report.   Although she said overall it looked good, my doctor still hadn't read it and will read it tomorrow and then get back to me.   I am happy that the results didn't turn up anything new, but I am still faced with the stupid mass and what I should do:

Although it indicates there was no overall significant interval change in the extension of the abnormal tissue (I guess it could have grown but not much??), the SUV reading went from a 3.2 to a 6.8.  (this increase was only a little over a month from my last PET)    Also, with regard to my kidney it states:

There has been interval resolution of left-sided hydronephrosis. 
The right kidney measures 10.8 cm in length, while the left kidney 
measures 8.4 cm in length. Additionally, the left kidney demonstrates 
diffuse parenchymal thinning with decreased cortical medullary 
differentiation and reduced FDG uptake and excretion.

or final impression of Interval resolution of left-sided hydronephrosis, but with signs of left renal parenchymal loss and decreased function.

It also says that I have Sigmoid diverticulosis without acute diverticulitis. 

And now to boot I have high blood pressure since the middle of July.   I will see my PCP on Friday.  They will probably start me on meds.

By the way, the mass was 6 cm x 2.9 cm in July

Back to square one.  Any thoughts?

 

Kathy

 

Ro10

Kathy

Glad you get good news from the PET.  Not sure what all the kidney discussion means.  Did you have a stent on the left side.  That would be why there is resolution of the hdronephosis

hope you are feeling better.  

Kaleena

Ro10 said:

Kathy

Glad you get good news from the PET.  Not sure what all the kidney discussion means.  Did you have a stent on the left side.  That would be why there is resolution of the hdronephosis

hope you are feeling better.  

Thanks, Ro

Yes, Ro:

I had a stent placed on August 7th.   Since then, I have been feeling better, but I am not sure why there is still a decreased function of my left kidney   Also, I still don't know why there is an increase in the SUV readings.   However, I am glad that the hydronephrosis is resolving.    I will need to have a replacement stent sometime in December.

I've been exercising more (now that I feel better) and working on getting the BP down to acceptable range but I think I will have to get meds because it is not happening quick enough. 

 

How have you been feeling?   Still keeping you in my prayers.

 

Kathy

Abbycat2

Kaleena said:

Thanks, Ro

Yes, Ro:

I had a stent placed on August 7th.   Since then, I have been feeling better, but I am not sure why there is still a decreased function of my left kidney   Also, I still don't know why there is an increase in the SUV readings.   However, I am glad that the hydronephrosis is resolving.    I will need to have a replacement stent sometime in December.

I've been exercising more (now that I feel better) and working on getting the BP down to acceptable range but I think I will have to get meds because it is not happening quick enough. 

 

How have you been feeling?   Still keeping you in my prayers.

 

Kathy

Glad you are feeling better, Kathy

Hi, Kathy,

I am glad that you got the results from your PET Scan but am at a loss in really understanding the problems you are having with your kidneys.  I am hoping that the increase in the SUV readings is due to something such as inflammation.  Now that you are feeling better and are exercising more, that ought to have an impact on your BP readings.  I am a long distance swimmer and try to get in at least a mile swim 3 to 5 times a week.  Apparently, all the years that I have been swimming regularly-29 years- didn't prevent me from getting uterine cancer, but I am hoping, though, that frequent exercise will help prevent a recurrence.  I know it won't hurt!  I read somewhere that exericise can reduce the recurrence of breast cancer, the regular type of endometrial cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer (Thank goodness I don't have to worry about the last one!).  What type of exercise are you getting?

Bye for now and best wishes,

Cathy

Kaleena

Abbycat2 said:

Glad you are feeling better, Kathy

Hi, Kathy,

I am glad that you got the results from your PET Scan but am at a loss in really understanding the problems you are having with your kidneys.  I am hoping that the increase in the SUV readings is due to something such as inflammation.  Now that you are feeling better and are exercising more, that ought to have an impact on your BP readings.  I am a long distance swimmer and try to get in at least a mile swim 3 to 5 times a week.  Apparently, all the years that I have been swimming regularly-29 years- didn't prevent me from getting uterine cancer, but I am hoping, though, that frequent exercise will help prevent a recurrence.  I know it won't hurt!  I read somewhere that exericise can reduce the recurrence of breast cancer, the regular type of endometrial cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer (Thank goodness I don't have to worry about the last one!).  What type of exercise are you getting?

Bye for now and best wishes,

Cathy

Thanks, Cathy

Thanks for your wishes, Cathy.

I have always been pretty active.  I had lost like 30 pounds (which I originally gained from the chemo), and was biking, etc., eating right.  Then last Feburary (2013), I started having my left-sided lower back pains again.  I also (without changing my eating habits or anything) started to gain weight and I was eating less and less of an appetite.   Then my headaches started getting worse and from that point on, I have been seeking to find out what the heck is going on.   I found my Vitiman D was really low (14) so I got the supplements.  That seemed to help with the pain also.  Then the CT scan indicated that my soft tissue mass had grown and was effecting my ureter.  I then started to feel really fatigued.  It was hard just to get through work some of the days.

The soft tissue mass went from a 2.3 x 1.7 cm mass to now a 6 cm x 2.9 cm mass.   Also, the scan indicated that I have diverticulosis which could be what was/is causing the periodical severe abdominal pain and vomiting that I experience from time to time.

Exercising now - I started walking a mile and/or I have an eliptical at our home which I do about a 18 minute span since I am just starting back.

Thanks again and I hope you are feeling great too!

Kathy

HellieC

Hope you get some answers, soon

Hope you get some answers, soon, Kathy.  I'm not sure either why the kidney isn't functioning 100%, but I do know that high blood pressure can be linked to kidney function, so perhaps that would explain the BP issue?  I would certainly want to talk to my onc. about the increased uptake on the PET.  I think that SUV of more than 3 indicates hypermetabolic activity, but it can be caused by things other than recurrence, such as infection, or inflammation so you need to talk to the expert about it.

Hoping that nothing in this report proves to be cause for concern
Kindest wishes

Helen 

Kaleena

HellieC said:

Hope you get some answers, soon

Hope you get some answers, soon, Kathy.  I'm not sure either why the kidney isn't functioning 100%, but I do know that high blood pressure can be linked to kidney function, so perhaps that would explain the BP issue?  I would certainly want to talk to my onc. about the increased uptake on the PET.  I think that SUV of more than 3 indicates hypermetabolic activity, but it can be caused by things other than recurrence, such as infection, or inflammation so you need to talk to the expert about it.

Hoping that nothing in this report proves to be cause for concern
Kindest wishes

Helen 

Thanks Helen!

I have been working on this stuff for awhile.  I just got the word that I DO NOT have sleep apena.   (Yeah!)

The issue with the kidney and high blood pressure is that kidney problems can cause high BP and a high BP can cause kidney problems - Yikes!   I think originally the blockage probably cause the high BP since I didn't have high BP until mid July and now that the stent is in and I still have a high BP it is effect my kidney.

In any event, I am waiting for one of my doctors to get back to me.  I am somewhat surprised that the urologist didn't ask for new blood work since my numbers where high and low in some areas.  She only indicate that my Creatinine was within normal limits and nothing to worry about (although it has gone up consistently this year from a .75 to 1.1)    However, my numbers for GFRe was a 52 and the chart indicates anything below 60 could be considered kidney disease.

Also, my RBC, hbg, hematocrit (HCT) and ABS Basophils were all flagged as high. With regard to my urine for blood I had a 2+ where it should be negative.   These tests were done prior to my stent surgery so you would think she would have wanted another set of these.   Do you think I am wrong about this?

Also, with the brush cytology - although it says negative for malignant cells, it also says Less than Optima - Scant Cellularity.  Does this mean they didn't get a good sample?  It also indicated a few degenerating urothelial cells.

Since I don't think my urologist sent this to my gyne/onc, I just faxed all of this information to them and likewise, I just faxed my PET/MR to my urologist so she can see the stuff about my kidneys and my kidney function.

Whoa!   Sorry for my little rant - lol   See the PCP tomorrow - the one who doesn't call me when they received stuff.   I will probably get some BP pills since I still can't seem to keep my numbers below 100 constantly.

Thanks for your kind wishes!   Hope you are having a great day today!  I will be thinking of you on the 18th.

Kathy