Indeterminate MRI Findings - Terrified.

The fact that it was found this early is HUGE!!!! And it could just be just a cyst. I know exactly how you feel......hang in there!!

Agreed, if it is something, it's all about finding it early and dealing with it fast. Early detection is the key. Best of luck!

Agree with all! Early detection is the key. If it is something, that is not benign, you have many options for treatment and can take comfort that there are many living with this as a chronic disease. If it is benign, breathe a sign of relief and demand surveillance scans e dry 6 months or even 3 months if your family has a history of GI cancers!

Definitely a good thing they found it early! Stay strong, it is hopefully just a benign cyst.

I had a cyst on my pancreas found early with a Scan and I was so lucky!!
Waiting is never easy but hang in there!

Thanks. No family history of any serious GI issues other than GERD. Having blood tests today. I’m hopeful but obviously very concerned. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks!

I would hold back on panicking at this point though fully appreciate that is easier said than done. I don't believe GERD in itself causes elevations in lipase/amylase but it can be a risk factor for pancreatitis which would cause blood abnormalities. It's possible you could have low level pancreatitis without all the dramatic symptoms that acute pancreatitis would cause. Sometimes it's an autoimmune condition. Pancreatitis can also produce pseudo cysts. Given you've had past elevations it's possible what they are seeing is an inflammatory process as mentioned. In the last decades, imaging has become much more accessible to people and more and more of these incidental cysts are being found. It is rare that they will change into something with worrisome features. Monitoring these cysts is one of the only tools that doctors have to try and catch lesions before they develop into pancan, despite the low incidence of that happening. You can learn more by searching incidental pancreatic cysts and if familiar with medical terminology follow your keywords with google scholar. I've had several EUS and outside of missing my morning coffee, they were pretty much a breeze. I'll cross my fingers you'll get a positive (relatively) report.

Thanks! And I’m doing my best not to panic, but as I’m sure you understand - I lose the panic fight every so often.

A few things, get a CA19-9 blood test if you haven't already, it is the marker for pancreatic cancer although it may be elevated for other reasons. Second thing, if it is cancer - don't panic but act speedily to get treatment. After diagnosis, speed to treatment in a hospital that specializes is key especially if you need Whipple procedure. Third thing is take everything on the Internet with two heaping spoonfuls of salt. All the survival statistics are OLD and terrifying - when I was diagnosed last December (it was found by accident, like you) everything I read said I had 3 months to a year to live. I had modified Whipple (left my stomach intact) on February 9th, just finished my 11th of 12 rounds of Folfirinox, no signs of recurrence or metastases. Life is good, so hang in there!