NEW HERE: HELP with understanding Radiology report

Jan4you
Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
in Kidney Cancer #1

Hello all!!

 

Went in for a liver ultrasound (liver enzymes high) and they found a solid mass on Left kidney. So I completed a MRA yesterday and picked up radiologist's report this afternoon. Being a weekend, I wanted to obtain the report to digest the "impressions" since my doctor will not get report till Monday.

I am confused. On the first page of this report, the "mass" on left (from the ultrasound) is now "a benign cortical cyst 1.5cm, but on the RIGHT side they found a 3.7 cm complex, apparent solid mass in the upper pole of right kidney posteriorly. This structure appears to contain a solid area and a relatively more cystic area."

The first radiologist reading the ultrasound said the solid mass was worrisome for a neoplasm recommending an MRI or CT.

 

Today's report from the MRA does not make any recommendations, but does add this:

"Typical-appearing simple cyst in the upper pole of the left kidney, measuring 1.5 cm in diameter. Complex, apparently mixed solid and cystic mass upprt pole of the LEFT kidney measuring approximately 3.7 cm in maximum diameter, INCOMPLETELY EVALUATED, as post contrast MR images of kidneys were not obtained."

 

So now on the second page of report under "IMPRESSIONS"  the solid mass IS the LEFT kidney not the right as the first page states? It is MIXED? What is that? Is it both a solid AND a cyst?

AND do they mean they are not done evaluating or there is nothing more to evaluate? HUH???????

 

Any feedback would be appreciated. I am NOT freaking out trust me. I have many other medical issues and I am on disability already. I do have a rare kidney disorder called Gitleman's. This means my kidneys spill out electrolytes mostly potassium. I take a medication to slow this spilling and lots of potassium supplemnts to counter this loss.

 

Hope to hear from someone here, as this is a weekend and will not get to talk to my doctor until Monday...

 

Jan

 

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    AsI see it

    Jan,

    My thoughts as a Kidney Cancer survivor are that they are going to do a CT with and without contrast. Because you already have kidney   issues they may or nay not require a bun-creatin ratio blood test first to make sure the dye is not harmful to your Kidney. Ask the doctor and Radiologist about this.

    The CT should give a better indication of your concerns. If the 1.5 CM cyst is just a simple cyst you can live with that. If the 3,7 cm shows that it appears to be malignant they will probably want to removee all or a potrion of that Kidney. If not they will watch and wait.

    All of us on this board have had the surgery for Kidney Cancer. Not fun, but beats the alternatvive. Mine was 11 yeas ago. Fay across the street is at 18 years and she is only 82. Liborio my cemant man is at 20 years and he is 69.

    The long term recovery rate for surget for a 3,7 cm tumor is close to  a % in the upper 90's.

     

     

    Icemantoo

     

    The s

     

    The ;ongtern recovery rare

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #3
    icemantoo said:

    AsI see it

    Jan,

    My thoughts as a Kidney Cancer survivor are that they are going to do a CT with and without contrast. Because you already have kidney   issues they may or nay not require a bun-creatin ratio blood test first to make sure the dye is not harmful to your Kidney. Ask the doctor and Radiologist about this.

    The CT should give a better indication of your concerns. If the 1.5 CM cyst is just a simple cyst you can live with that. If the 3,7 cm shows that it appears to be malignant they will probably want to removee all or a potrion of that Kidney. If not they will watch and wait.

    All of us on this board have had the surgery for Kidney Cancer. Not fun, but beats the alternatvive. Mine was 11 yeas ago. Fay across the street is at 18 years and she is only 82. Liborio my cemant man is at 20 years and he is 69.

    The long term recovery rate for surget for a 3,7 cm tumor is close to  a % in the upper 90's.

     

     

    Icemantoo

     

    The s

     

    The ;ongtern recovery rare

    I appreciate your response to

    I appreciate your response to my confusion.

    I already had an MRA with contrast so don't think they will do a CT, right?

     

    Just confused as the report says right kidney on one page, then under impressions they say, LEFT which is what was identified by ultrasound.

     

    And if the mass is mixed..not sure what that may mean.

     

    Thanks again, Jan

     

     

  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #4
    Jan4you said:

    I appreciate your response to

    I appreciate your response to my confusion.

    I already had an MRA with contrast so don't think they will do a CT, right?

     

    Just confused as the report says right kidney on one page, then under impressions they say, LEFT which is what was identified by ultrasound.

     

    And if the mass is mixed..not sure what that may mean.

     

    Thanks again, Jan

     

     

    Your Report

    It looks like there's a typo in your report. You'll have to get that addressed. It doesn't give you good feelings about the radiologist, does it? It would be nice to know which kidney the larger mass is in. I'd suppose it's on the same side that the ultrasound saw it.

    I don't know why you had an MRA? They are usually used to evaluate the arteries. The normal test we all get here is a CT scan with and without contrast, like Iceman says. I had one without contrast first and they found a 6.9 cm mass in my right kidney. Then they did a CT with and without contrast to have a better look. They are pretty good at telling if it's likely cancer from this (something like 90% of what they think are, are). Some docs are doing biopsies, but most just remove all or part of the kidney if it's likely a tumor.

    I agree with Iceman too, that before you have the contrast you'll want to make sure your kidney function is good enough, since you have kidney problems already. Contrast is hard on the kidneys.

    You should be seeing a urologic oncologist (you can see a regular urologist, but a urologic oncologist with training in this area is really preferred).

    Best of luck to you.

    Todd

  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #5
    Jan4you said:

    I appreciate your response to

    I appreciate your response to my confusion.

    I already had an MRA with contrast so don't think they will do a CT, right?

     

    Just confused as the report says right kidney on one page, then under impressions they say, LEFT which is what was identified by ultrasound.

     

    And if the mass is mixed..not sure what that may mean.

     

    Thanks again, Jan

     

     

    Your Report

    It looks like there's a typo in your report. You'll have to get that addressed. It doesn't give you good feelings about the radiologist, does it? It would be nice to know which kidney the larger mass is in. I'd suppose it's on the same side that the ultrasound saw it.

    I don't know why you had an MRA? They are usually used to evaluate the arteries. The normal test we all get here is a CT scan with and without contrast, like Iceman says. I had one without contrast first and they found a 6.9 cm mass in my right kidney. Then they did a CT with and without contrast to have a better look. They are pretty good at telling if it's likely cancer from this (something like 90% of what they think are, are). Some docs are doing biopsies, but most just remove all or part of the kidney if it's likely a tumor.

    I agree with Iceman too, that before you have the contrast you'll want to make sure your kidney function is good enough, since you have kidney problems already. Contrast is hard on the kidneys.

    You should be seeing a urologic oncologist (you can see a regular urologist, but a urologic oncologist with training in this area is really preferred).

    Best of luck to you.

    Todd

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #6
    todd121 said:

    Your Report

    It looks like there's a typo in your report. You'll have to get that addressed. It doesn't give you good feelings about the radiologist, does it? It would be nice to know which kidney the larger mass is in. I'd suppose it's on the same side that the ultrasound saw it.

    I don't know why you had an MRA? They are usually used to evaluate the arteries. The normal test we all get here is a CT scan with and without contrast, like Iceman says. I had one without contrast first and they found a 6.9 cm mass in my right kidney. Then they did a CT with and without contrast to have a better look. They are pretty good at telling if it's likely cancer from this (something like 90% of what they think are, are). Some docs are doing biopsies, but most just remove all or part of the kidney if it's likely a tumor.

    I agree with Iceman too, that before you have the contrast you'll want to make sure your kidney function is good enough, since you have kidney problems already. Contrast is hard on the kidneys.

    You should be seeing a urologic oncologist (you can see a regular urologist, but a urologic oncologist with training in this area is really preferred).

    Best of luck to you.

    Todd

    Thanks Todd for your reply.

    Thanks Todd for your reply. iI appreciate your information and recommendations.

    The MRA was done with/without contrast. And MRA was recommended over MRI or CT, to decipher between mass and cyst in more detail AND to look at arteries. All this started because of continued liver dysfunction test results.


    Oh and I don't have a kidney DISEASE but malformation that means my tubules spill out electrolytes. I take a med and supplements to compensate for that spilling.

    This is ONLY a radiologist report and yes it was wrong in describing which kidney had the solid mass. To me it sounds like the cyst AND the mixed solid with cyst are two separate areas in same kidney which is probably the LEFT one.

    Lastly, my biggest question is do they remove the mass if it is mixed or just watch it awhile?

    Hope someone can help me. My doctor has not yet read the report. AND if you read the last line it says it is incomplete. I am sure my doctor will be sending me to the right specialist once she reads the report on Monday.

    I truly appreciate your response Todd!

    Best to you and yours~ Jan

  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #7
    Jan4you said:

    Thanks Todd for your reply.

    Thanks Todd for your reply. iI appreciate your information and recommendations.

    The MRA was done with/without contrast. And MRA was recommended over MRI or CT, to decipher between mass and cyst in more detail AND to look at arteries. All this started because of continued liver dysfunction test results.


    Oh and I don't have a kidney DISEASE but malformation that means my tubules spill out electrolytes. I take a med and supplements to compensate for that spilling.

    This is ONLY a radiologist report and yes it was wrong in describing which kidney had the solid mass. To me it sounds like the cyst AND the mixed solid with cyst are two separate areas in same kidney which is probably the LEFT one.

    Lastly, my biggest question is do they remove the mass if it is mixed or just watch it awhile?

    Hope someone can help me. My doctor has not yet read the report. AND if you read the last line it says it is incomplete. I am sure my doctor will be sending me to the right specialist once she reads the report on Monday.

    I truly appreciate your response Todd!

    Best to you and yours~ Jan

    Types of Kidney Masses

    I really like my urologic oncologists website for a description of the different types of masses, the frequency they are seen, and different treatment options.

    Please have a look:

    http://www.kidneycancerinstitute.com/

    Active surveillance is one option (what you call just watch it awhile). They do that sometimes with small masses, or with masses in people that have other health problems where surgery is risky, etc.

    Look through the site. There's great information on there.

    Todd

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #8
    todd121 said:

    Types of Kidney Masses

    I really like my urologic oncologists website for a description of the different types of masses, the frequency they are seen, and different treatment options.

    Please have a look:

    http://www.kidneycancerinstitute.com/

    Active surveillance is one option (what you call just watch it awhile). They do that sometimes with small masses, or with masses in people that have other health problems where surgery is risky, etc.

    Look through the site. There's great information on there.

    Todd

    Thanks Todd for your response

    Thanks Todd for your response and that link. I found it helpful

    Have not heard yet so called my primary doc. She says the radiologist's report from the MRA is too vague (and wrong kidney mentioned). She is waiting to speak to the radiologist for furhter clarification. Maybe that's a good thing?

    Best to you and yours~ Jan

  • GSRon
    GSRon Member Posts: 1,303 Member
    #9
    Jan4you said:

    Thanks Todd for your response

    Thanks Todd for your response and that link. I found it helpful

    Have not heard yet so called my primary doc. She says the radiologist's report from the MRA is too vague (and wrong kidney mentioned). She is waiting to speak to the radiologist for furhter clarification. Maybe that's a good thing?

    Best to you and yours~ Jan

    Hi Jan.. glad to hear your

    Hi Jan.. glad to hear your scan is getting another review..  Hopefully a second radiologist will be called in, better yet...

    Good Luck.!

    Ron

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #10
    GSRon said:

    Hi Jan.. glad to hear your

    Hi Jan.. glad to hear your scan is getting another review..  Hopefully a second radiologist will be called in, better yet...

    Good Luck.!

    Ron

    Thanks Ron, hope you are well

    Thanks Ron, hope you are well ~stay tuned..

    Jan

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