3 cm liver lesion: I'm beyond terrified

Hi @sonyahamel, sorry to hear you feel your world has been turned upsidedown by this newly discovered liver lesion. I understand how scary that is, but why would you cancel your CT scan? It's always better to know what it is. Maybe it's nothing significant and you just go back to your normal life. Benign liver lesions are extremely common and we are often even born with them. Maybe it's something that needs to be addressed and then the sooner the better while it's relatively small. I have many liver lesions they believe are all cysts. Some are 1 cm+. The first one was an incidental finding 22 years ago when I had a kidney stone. They told me a huge percentage of the population has benign liver cysts. I have breast and neuroendocrine cancer, but no one believes my liver cysts are related and many, many radiologists and oncologists have looked at my scans over the decades. Good luck with your scan. I hope it turns out to be benign and that you never have to worry about it again.

I've had so many CTs in the past 25 years. They are very quick and easy tests so don't worry about the test at all. It's just like a super xray.

Thank you for your very kind and encouraging words 🙂

Hello. Please don’t be afraid. There is always the possibility that this is just a cyst. Many of us have them and they are not harmful. As the previous comment stated, it is better to know and treat appropriately now rather than later if it does turn out to be something more serious. It is more manageable and less stressful when caught early. Wishing you the very best and sending a dose of courage to help you through.

Hello @sonyahamel and welcome to Mayo Connect.

I understand your concern. Any problem that shows up on the liver certainly does create anxiety. I have had three surgeries for a rare type of cancer (carcinoid) in the upper digestive tract. So, when an MRI showed "lesions on the liver" I certainly did panic. Follow-up with MRIs were done several years in a row and then one year they were no longer visible.

Some things to consider:
How do you feel? Do you have digestive discomfort?
Has your doctor ordered blood tests to check for liver functioning?

No digestive discomfort. No liver function tests ordered. This lesion was found incidentally during a ct angiogram. But they are not exactly sure what it is. Another ct scan was ordered and was done today. Thanks for your reply. I'm in an absolute panic.

Try your best not to panic, @sonyahamel (I know it is easier said than done). Take deep breaths and try to focus on other things in your life. Until you get the results, do what you enjoy and be with other people.

It might help put your mind at ease if you were to ask for blood tests to check for liver functioning. Will you consider that?

I'm really sorry you're scared. But Do not cancel the CT scan! That's not going to change the fact that there's something there. If it were to be cancer, are so many things they can do now! We are all here to support you and help you through this difficult time, and it may turn out to be nothing serious. But you definitely want to find out what it is and take care of it. You don't want it to grow or fester. Keep the appointment and face this head on. We are here for you and we will help you through it. I just had cancer removed on my intestine, they got everything, and it was an aggressive cancer and also had cancer on my colon at 38. You can do this. It may not even be as bad as you think it is, both of my cancers were limited to surgeries. I never had to have chemo or radiation. So my point is, face these things head on, try your hardest not to think negatively because there is so many things that can be done now, and understand that the people on the site are here to support each other and to help you through this. 💗
Angela

@sonyahamel, I wanted to check in with you. Did you have the CT scan done? Any update?

17 years ago I went under surgery to remove big growth from my liver. Doctor remove have of my liver because the growth was attached to my artery in the liver. Before operation I was told usually those kind of things are benign. I can’t say I was not afraid because I’d be lying. This Time my daughter was expecting my first grandchild so I Purchased presents I included card to my mother born yet grandchild and hope for the best. Turns out I woke up after operation and the doctor said was hard but it’s done and you are OK. I didn’t believe I was told the truth so I’m on my own I asked for medical records to make sure they telling me the truth. Recovery where tough but I got through it . sooner you do the test sooner you gonna know more and you going to be able to sleep at night. Trust me I went through that.Good luck I’m praying for you and I know you’re going to be OK

I had the same thing. Only twice as big. 6cm. They found it by accident on a CT scan. I came back for another CT scan with contrast (dye) . I just cut and pasted from the Mayo site what they found in my liver. I also had a "Fatty Liver", that was concerning on some level. Owned a bar for 20 years so I know where that originated. Anyways, I was scared, very scared. It had a very happy ending. Here is the exact thing I had off their site: A liver hemangioma (he-man-jee-O-muh) is a noncancerous (benign) mass in the liver made up of a tangle of blood vessels. Also known as hepatic hemangiomas or cavernous hemangiomas, these liver masses are common and are estimated to occur in up to 20% of the population.
Most cases of liver hemangiomas are discovered during an imaging study done for some other condition. People who have a liver hemangioma rarely experience signs and symptoms and typically don't need treatment.
It may be unsettling to know you have a mass in your liver, even if it's a benign mass. However, there's no evidence that an untreated liver hemangioma can lead to liver cancer. This was all 4 years ago and I had one follow up. I stopped drinking alcohol and they said the fatty liver had gone away and the hemagiomas did not appear to be an issue. Since then I have never even thought about it. I wouldn't be so irresponsible as to say that it is probably one of these, but the odds are good that it is. You have to know tho. I hope this helped. Good luck!