New Here. Confused by differing radiology reports

Jen T
Jen T Member Posts: 20
edited July 2017 in Kidney Cancer #1

In June I had a CT scan with contrast for suspected diverticulitis.  it turned out that there was a 3cm solid mass on my right kidney & multiple sub cm cysts. There was a 1.6 cm mildly complex cyst on the left. I was referred to a urologist who told me that the left cyst was probably just a cyst but that we'd watch it. He said the right mass could be cancer but he wanted a CT without and with contrast to see if it might be an angiomyolipoma. That CT report came back that the mass was solid and not an angiomyolipoma. The dr called me and says the mass is unchanged and we need to schedule a partial nephrectomy. Being the kind of person that likes to know all the details, I went to the radiologist and got a copy of the report for myself. The new report shows  a 3.6 cm solid mass AND a 7cm cystic lesion both in the upper pole of right kidney. Should I be concerned that this cyst wasn't on the report from a month ago? i am somewhat suprised that there was this kind of change from the previous scan. 

Comments

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #2
    Hi Jen. Welcome but I'm sorry

    Hi Jen. Welcome but I'm sorry you're here. I'm really surprised that the CT scan missed a 7 cm cyst. I doubt it's anything new since June so unless I'm misunderstanding, and/or you meant to say 7 mm, it's odd that they didn't pick it up in the first CT scan. Kind of hard to miss at this size, I would think.

  • Max57
    Max57 Member Posts: 177 Member
    #3
    agree with Apny

    7 cm can not be missed just double check is it 7MM on the other hand second opinion will help !

  • Jen T
    Jen T Member Posts: 20
    edited July 2017 #4
    Thanks for reply

    Thanks for the replies. I've double checked and compared the reports. The one in June says "3.6 cm solid mass is seen extending off the MIDPOLE of right kidney. Subcrntimeter hypodensities in right kidney are too small to accurately characterize but likely represent tiny cysts". The July CT report (by a different radiologist) says "there is a cystic lesion in the upper pole of the right kidney measuring 7.9 cm. There is an enhancing mass in the upper pole of the right kidny measures 3.4cm". This is not the only descrepancy though. He also states that I have 4.6 cm cyst in my right ovary that is unchanged from my last CT. The thing is, the last report said I ha e a 2.6cm cyst in the LEFT ovary. I'm freaking out a bit because if it is true that the 7.9 cm cyst was not on the previous scan then it grew that big in less than a month! That can't be good.  I'm also wondering if I'm going to wind up with a radical nephrectomy instead of the partial. I made another appointment to see the urologist tomorrow. I want him to show me the scans and identify these differences. 

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #5
    Jen, there's no way that

    Jen, there's no way that almost 8 cm cyst grew to such size in such short time. If it is RCC, then it's impossible for it to grow that quickly. RCC is pretty slow growing. I think it had to have been there the first scan. How they missed it is beyond me. The 3.4 cm one is the same as the 3.6 cm midpole cyst. The discrepancy is minor. But that nearly 8 cm one just blows me away that they didn't pick it up. As for the ovarian cysts, do you have one on each or did they make a mistake with the right vs. left?

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #6
    OH my Jen, so sorry you are

    OH my Jen, so sorry you are going through all this now~reminds me of my first CT and 2 different radiologists got things so wrong, made me worried. I asked the Urologist/surgeon to help correct it. He spoke to radiologists who had to make an "amendment" to first reports. One radiologist even contradicted the results in the same paragraph? Looked like a has masses in both kidneys!!!!

    I too have a cyst in both kidneys and was shown by Urologist how much brighter a cyst looks on CT than a neoplasm, because they are filled with watery substance and smoother margins. Then he showed me my renal cancer tumor and it had irregular margins and was "ugly." 

    So make sure your urologist explains all this for you. Still looks like you are borderline stage I which is good. One "good" thing about most kidney cancers is that the cancer bugger usually leaves once the kidney or tumor removed.

    Just know that WE here want to support you and will walk along side you if you'd like us to. 

    Sending you calming, reassuring vibes with a gentle HUG!

    Jan

  • Jen T
    Jen T Member Posts: 20
    edited July 2017 #7
    Update-Met with Urologist again

    so I met with the urologist again today to have him show me what the heck is going on on those scans. He showed me the images and where the cysts and mass were. He said that there is not a 7.9cm cyst on my right kidney and there never was. He says that what the radiologist said must have been a typo because the cyst is no more than 0.9 cm. He feels it is clearly a cyst even in the prescence of the 3.6 cm mass. He says he will look at the cyst when he takes off the mass and will probably take the cyst with it just to be sure. He and the other urologist at his office both looked at the scans and felt that the mass is in a good spot for Robot assisted partial nephrectomy. He feels that the left kidney is a cyst but that we will watch It. i asked him to explain the ovarian cyst inconsistency and he confirmed that I have cysts on both ovaries. He did not think my gyn would want to do surgery on those until after the kidney surgery was over but he thought I should talk with her. although not his area of expertise he would guess that they are probaby just something to watch. He feels the mass in the kidney is confined to the kidney and once removed I stand a very good chance of being cured. I'm still nervous and freaked out but feel a little better. Surgery is scheduled for Aug 3 if my insurance will approve the hospital he wants to do the surgery at. If not it might be a littl later at a different hospital. 

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #8
    That's a relief, I'm sure

    That's a relief, I'm sure about the .9 cm cyst. I have one small one on each kidney and we're just watching them. I also have a cyst on each ovary and my gyn said to just keep an eye on them. No surgery necessary unless they cause pain or problems. All the best to you and hope you have the surgery in the hospital you want. I also had a partial but it was open. Not something I want to do again but not nearly as bad as I had feared. So don't worry; most likely the surgery will be the end of it! 

Discussion Boards