test results [longish]

[tanrinia]

(apologies to those what get to see this multiple times, but i'm typing once and then pasting into various venues)

well, that was a big waste of time.

we took the entire afternoon off so the doctor could read the results AS WE WERE SITTING THERE (quite possibly for the first time) and be very blase about the whole thing.

i know they see these things daily, but a little bit of interest would have been nice.

anyway, i DID snag 2 copies of the catscan and ultrasound report.

some highlights:

Jim's spleen is unremarkable. this caused me to giggle :) (but not, of course, to remark)

okay, the IMPORTANT stuff. i'm gonna quote it b/c i know many of you speak "medicalese" and can interpret, but i think it's 'guardedly good.'

"FINDINGS: There is a low density rounded lesion involving the left adrenal gland ... measuring 3.6 x 4.3 cm in dimension. This has Hounsfield units of 11 compatible with either fluid or a fat containing structure such as an adenoma. The lesion did appear to be cystic on the previous exam [i'm assuming the ultrasound]. ... The hounsfield units on the delayed images were only 18 indicating no sigificant enhancement of the lesion.

"IMPRESSION: The patient has a nonenhancing cyst involving the left adrenal gland as descrbed above. This could be related to a residual cyst from a previous hemorrhage. Theoretically, this could be related to a fat containing adrenal adenoma. In either case, it appears benign. As an extra check, a six month follow-up ultrasound of the kidneys to include the left adrenal gland could be considered for further evaluation."

so, guardedly good news. the only hesitation we have has to do with size. the cyst is the size of a quarter, and 'they' say larger cysts/masses are more likely to be Bad (tm), SO, rather than accepting the radiologist's "let's see if it gets worse in 6 months" recommendation (and we had to argue the doctor for this), we...okay JIM is getting an MRI in the next couple of weeks, just to be SURE it's benign.

so....i'm breathing a bit of a sigh of relief, but we're not totally relaxed yet...

THANKS SO MUCH for everyone's support and vibes and spells and prayers and whatever, cos we really have felt them.

lees

Comments

[romandruid.livejournal.com]

yay! *hug*

[mistw02.livejournal.com]

so glad, so glad....hugs to you. give the big guy a big squeeze for me.

[ceolnamara.livejournal.com]

That sounds fine. I used to listen to my dad dicate reports all the time. I'll pass it on to him for a read through. I know he'll say he can't say anything for sure without seeing the images, but he could offer laymans interpretation.

To give some perspective, I have four lesions on my brain. And beyond a little shaking from time to time (possibly because of the one on my basal ganglia, and possibly from something unrelated to the lesions), I'm fine. A lesion inside doesn't always mean something that needs to be worried about.

[tanrinia]

well, the 'specialist' didn't see the image either from what i can tell. at least there wasn't a copy of either the ultrasound or catscan images in the file.

i'm much less worried than i was, but i'll still feel better if we get confirmation from the MRI.

[lillassea.livejournal.com]

That's wonderful news.

And I think he should have the username "unremarkablespleen" on LJ. Or possibly as the name of a rock band.

[tanrinia]

yes, but then we would be remarking upon it :)

[duriyah.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it's good, even if guardedly. You can both relax now.

*hug*

[chronarchy.livejournal.com]

I'm always worried when I go through LJ friends entries chronologically and end up having to give "retroactive" good vibes. I'm glad this turned out to be good, even if it's guardedly so. Decidedly would be a better adjective, but slightly good news is better than many alternatives.