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2nd opinion on MRCP interpretation or not?
Had an incidental finding on pancreatic cyst of 1.3 cm and had an MRCP this morning and received the test results in the afternoon:
Radiologist did not report much on my pancreas except for:
Cystic focus measuring 13 mm in the body (2-15) previously 9 mm on CT dated 1/31/2023. No mural modularity . No main pancreatic dilation.
Recommendation to consider follow up in 2 years or GI MD advice if further clarification is necessary . If stable at 2 years, consider lengthening follow up interval to 3 years and then to 5 years for total of 10 years if clinically appropriate.
Radiologist does not state what type of pancreatic cyst. Is it benign, is it on side branch of IPMN? He never stated what the characteristics of the pancreatic cyst.
Should I ask Kaiser GP for a 2nd opinion on the reading as it basically state that the pancreatic cyst is not malignant but nothing to state it is benign or precancerous?
Does it seem like there should be more information on the report?
Does it seem like to have follow up in 2 years is good enough?
Thanks
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I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at Kaiser in 2016.
If I were you, I would first request an appointment with your GP and ask for an explanation of the radiologist's report. If you are not satisfied, you can readily switch to another GP. You could ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist (the report you received mentions possible advice from a gastroenterologist).
I went to a Kaiser emergency room to accelerate my diagnosis. A friend also did this. It helped both of us.
I sought opinions outside Kaiser at a few points, but I had to pay for them.
Good luck.
@castell Did you call to request for the MRI imaging and then paid for a radiologist to read the image? Was it expensive? Did you request a 2nd opinion from Kaiser or you didn't care to?
@lpaelevated4
My first sign of something wrong was abnormal results in routine blood work -- my liver function tests were way off. My Kaiser GP referred me to a liver specialist: he could see some faint jaundice in my eyes, and he ordered an MRCP.
Results of the MRCP revealed that I had pancreatic cancer. All this was in Kaiser.
Hello, I also had a Pancreatic cyst incidental finding in early 2024 which was detected in a contrast CT. My GP highly recommended I follow up with a contract MRI which revealed the presence of 2.9 cm, Mucinous cyst, main duct dilation IPMN, and a history of acute pancreatitis. These are considered worrisome features for possible pancreatic cancer. Shortly thereafter, I had a biopsy of my cyst which revealed high grade atypia, I met with my GI to go over my test results and based on all the worrisome features found through testing, I was referred to surgical oncology. In June of 2024, I had a Whipple surgery in which it was found that my cyst did indeed have cells of the adenocarcinoma type (Stage 1A). It is my understanding that oncologist doctors follow a criteria based on the results of the tests for probability of cancer and to deem a cyst resectable versus non-resectable.
If I were you, I would meet with my GI and go over the MRI findings and recommendations. In addition, and this is so you can have peace of mind, I would ask for a second opinion from a highly specialized center such as Mayo or in my case Froedtert & MCW. I got three medical opinions. This gave me the peace of mind and complete understanding on what needed to happen next.
Sending you Peace and Clarity. I know how scary this can be, take it one step at a time.
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1 Reaction@carfbuch I message my GP and asked if it is benign or precancerous. I also asked if there is side branch dilation. She replied the following day with benign and no side branch dilation.
However, after carefully reading the report, it is classified as PAN2B (2-15)...
@castell Is this with S. CA Kaiser in Los Angeles? Sorry to hear about your pancreatic cancer. Did you feel that kaiser downplay the MRI results?
@lpaelevated4
I've reviewed my nine-year-old records. I had an ERCP, not an MRCP. The ERCP is more invasive, and can take X-rays, and allowed the gastroenterologist to insert a stent in my blocked bile duct.
I am in Kaiser in San Diego. I didn't feel they downplayed any test results. I think all doctors, including those at Kaiser, are very conscious of their potential legal liabilities if they overlook threats to your health. I asked for a second opinion at UCSD, but they would not pay for it.
@castell thank you for your time to look up old records . I’m thinking about asking for 2nd opinion for another radiologist to read the image.
I sent another message to GP about referring me to GI going through test results and images . No answer back so doubt it may happen. If they found non mucinous cyst why would I need follow up 2 years later . Just want to be thorough.