Indeterminate MRI Findings - Terrified.

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!

Hi everyone. Just had my endoscopic ultrasound. Doctor said there is nothing in my Pancreas. No masses. No biopsy needed (did take a biopsy of esophagus but said it didn’t look troublesome - just probably from reflux. Will have MRI again in 3 months to be safe, but otherwise all is good.

Thanks for all the support. This group really helped me make it through the last two weeks. Ya’ll have been great. I pray you all have good journeys! And thank you all again so very much.

Hi everyone. Just had my endoscopic ultrasound. Doctor said there is nothing in my Pancreas. No masses. No biopsy needed (did take a biopsy of esophagus but said it didn’t look troublesome - just probably from reflux. Will have MRI again in 3 months to be safe, but otherwise all is good.

Thanks for all the support. This group really helped me make it through the last two weeks. Ya’ll have been great. I pray you all have good journeys! And thank you all again so very much.

Glad it worked out for you.

I would generally stay on it and stay cautious.

My understanding is that diagnosis regarding the pancreas can be difficult. So, again, I would stay on it.

My wife's mom got pancreatic cancer. She had various kinds of symptoms for years and years, but never got diagnosed with the cancer. They just thought it was other things. She had surgery on her colon, a number of other things as well.

from the American Cancer Society

Can Pancreatic Cancer Be Prevented?
There is no sure way to prevent pancreatic cancer. But there are things you can do that might lower your risk.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/pancreatic-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/prevention.html

Thanks. Have another scan in 3 months as a precaution. So yes. Will be making sure it’s all good. Thanks.

Good for you! Best of luck going forward.

I would ask to do the scan sooner. There was suspicion and 2 month later, had a follow up CT scan, and the mass grew to borderline resectable stage. ...

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.