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Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: 8 hours ago | Replies (1382)Comment receiving replies
Hello,
I’ve posted before and just wanted to ‘check in’… it’s a comfort to talk to someone…
This coming Monday, since we are in Florida, I am going for my 3rd contrast MRI @ Jacksonville, Mayo (first 2 done in Rochester along with an EUS). They want to monitor as the 2nd MRI was inconclusive whether or not my cyst is growing or whether it was just the angle of the ‘slicing’ of the MRI picture.
My questions are: Is this a normal explanation and possible? How long do they ‘monitor’ a cyst? My CA count in October was ‘15’, previously it was ‘16’. I do not have any other symptoms, nor do I have dramatic weight loss.
I had a consultation with one of the surgeons who told me that where my cyst is located, there is an 85% chance it’s benign and that since I am a bit overweight (250 lbs / 5’9) the Whipple surgery would be risky. Said that even at Mayo Rochester the mortality rate is 1-2%. I am trying to lose weight to make my health condition easier, but my concern is when do they make the decision to remove my cyst or does it have to become cancerous first? (That scares me too).
Any thoughts or similar situations people can share are appreciated. Thanks .
Replies to "Hello, I’ve posted before and just wanted to ‘check in’… it’s a comfort to talk to..."
Hi, not sure if this is helpful, but I will relay my experience, even though everyone is different. I had an MRI in 2021, after unexplained weight loss, that showed a 2cm IPMN cyst in the tail of my pancreas. The EUS came back negative. There was a little involvement with main duct. Decision was made to monitor again in a year. In 2022 the cyst was 2.1cm, but main duct around the cyst was noticably dilated. Even though the cyst had not grown considerably, the area around it was suspicious. Then I had a distal pancreatectomy, and an adenocarcinoma was found, but cleanly removed with no local spread. I am stage 1b pancreatic cancer and undergoing chemo. I think sometimes it's not always the size of the cyst, but conditions around the cyst and characteristics of the cyst that could determine action. I hope this is somewhat helpful.
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I have a friend with a cyst and she gets regular monitoring scans. She's not at Mayo, but the center where she goes wants to monitor it. From what I have read, they are typically benign, but most centers will want to keep an eye on them to watch for any changes. You should talk to your doctor and ask them questions until you are comfortable with the answers. You can always seek a second opinion.