Hi Sandpiper.  It really is stressful waiting for scan results especially like you said it could be a fast growing cancer.  I would phone the secretary again today and everday until you get heard.  It really is not good enough to be told they are on a go slow ( this is your life they are talking about)  Why don't you contact PALS at your hospital and put in a complaint.  I have secondary cancer and found that you have to stand your ground and make yourself heard.  I am really praying that your scan comes back okay.  Big hugs.

Lee x

Thanks for your reply.

The secretary is notoriously hard to speak with as her phone automatically goes to a voicemail! Tried asking reception for an alternative number but told that is the only one.

I will keep hassling though!

Had a call from the Secretary who was very abrupt and reiterated that the consultant had not looked at the report and that I had to just wait. She said the consultant has a full week of appointments so he will look at it when he can.

She did say that if it was of major concern it would be flagged as urgent and its not so I took a small glimmer of hope from that BUT it was quickly replaced by the thought 'if the consultant hasnt looked at the report, how does he know its not flagged as urgent'

The waiting continues......

Hi Sandpiper,

A very warm welcome to our forum.

This is always an anxious wait.

When did you have your scan? There are procedures to be followed by your consultant once your CT results are returned. Your consultant will hold regular MDT (multi disciplinary team) meetings - usually weekly, to discuss all of the cases that have been returned that week. This is where all of the different medical professionals who might be involved in your care, should you need it, discuss the findings and the best way forward. This all takes time, but means that by the time you attend for the results, your consultant will not only be able to give you the results, but also outline any treatment that might be needed.

Reports that are flagged as urgent would be shown to him as a matter of priority once they are received. Let's hope that it's good news that it's not been flagged up.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx.

Thank your reply and explanation of procedures which does make sense.

I guess I am just so scared and the not knowing is so hard so I felt by chasing up my results, it made me feel like I was doing something proactive.

Thank your reply and explanation of procedures which does make sense.

I guess I am just so scared and the not knowing is so hard so I felt by chasing up my results, it made me feel like I was doing something proactive.

Hi Sandpiper.  Jolamine's explanation does make sense.  Like me I would feel better by chasing things up as I hate waiting and not knowing is scary.  Hopefully you get your answers soon.

Lee x

Yes, had the consultants secretary explained the process to me like Jolamine did, it would have been easier to accept the wait.

As it was, I got a very abrupt explanation that consisted of telling me that the consultant had been out of the trust and had only returned on Monday and that he has a full week of appointments so I just need to wait.

There was zero empathy or compassion which made her comments hard to take.

Hi Sandpiper,

It is only natural to be scared at this point. You did the right thing to contact your consultant's secretary. It sounds as if she may have been a bit overwrought with the consultant being away and you maybe  got the brunt of this?

Please let us know when you get your results and remember that we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi

Had a letter from my Consultant this morning confirming that I need another CT scan with a 15 and 30 minute delay with contrast due to the large size of the lesion.

So more waiting and worrying

Hi Sandpiper oh no another scan, do you have a date yet?  Like you say more waiting and worrying.  Hopefully you won't have to wait as long this time.

Lee x

Just really down at the moment. Trying to be normal and get on with daily life but its like a wave of doom hanging over me.

No date for the scan yet but consultant said he has marked it as urgent so just have to wait.

Hi Sandpiper,

When you were expecting to have results by now and not expecting to need further investigation, you are bound to feel down. This is not surprising and unfortunately, our over-active imaginations tend to take us to all sorts of dark places, which doesn't help. I hope that you get your CT scan soon and that you won't have too long to wait for results after that.  This is always an anxious time and irrespective of the outcome, you'll feel better once you know .

You'll find that your emotions will change like the weather with this, but rest assured that this is all perfectly normal. Please keep in touch and remember that we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Thank you so much Jolamine x

Hi Sandpiper, I hope that you get a date for your next scan soon, I know how worrying it is when you are having the tests, but not getting any answers.

I was in the same place as you last year, I had a 'large mass' found on my liver during an ultrasound. Also went through a CT scan waited for those results, then they wanted an MRI done, then it went to the MDT meeting.  After all of that, they still couldn't tell for sure if it was malignant or not. Due to the size of it they decided that it needed to be removed anyway, so did not bother with a biopsy, they scheduled me straight for a liver resection which took place last August.  It took nearly 9 weeks after surgery for the pathology results to come back, but it luckily came back as being benign.

I know that it is very hard to keep hopeful and positive when you get on this treadmill of investigations, but hopefully after all of these tests you will find out that your lesion is also a benign one.  

Although it was very worrying at the time, I now count myself as being so lucky that it was found, as I had no symptoms at all.

I hope that you get some answers soon.

Best wishes

Annie

Thank you Annie for your message. Glad that your mass was not malignant.

I was wondering why they are requesting another CT scan when I have been reading that MRI's are more detailed for this size of mass and location but hey, what do I know!

If you dont mind me asking, how was your recovery after the resection operation?