How long will the results come through from a CT scan

[annielebois]

My mum is on the liver transplant list - she has psc. she has just been told she is being taken off the list due a growth seen on her liver from the scan she had last week. she is now having a ct scan this coming Thursday to see how big the growth is and what needs to be done - has anyone been in this position and can advise how long we have to wait for the ct scan results

[gamesmaker]

Hi. Sorry to hear about your Mum. With all reports from the radiology departments of the various scans, the results go back to whoever requested it. A CT should be assessed by a consultant radiologist who will send the report (probably electronically) to the requesting consultant - probably the hepatologist in the same hospital? So the main contstraint will be the speed of the radiologist in reporting the scan. It is probably possible for the hepatologist to look at the images on line if he is in the same hospital - and he might ask the radiiologist for a verbal report in advance of the written report being available. If however the scan is at at different hospital this could bring in slight delays Good luck.

[annielebois in reply to gamesmaker]

Thank you gamesmaker, mum is being looked after at the QE in Birmingham and it was a Professor there who requested the scan - hopefully she will get the results pretty quickly so we can look at the options she has. thank you

[Bolly in reply to annielebois]

Hi annie. gamesmaker is spot on with observations on scan reports. The imaging can be looked at by a consultant immediately, if they are in the same hospital or on the same IT system as the scanning hospital. A written report takes longer. My team called me the day after a tumour was found, based solely on the scan, and then once I was referred to a surgeon we discussed options. This referral took a couple of weeks. Have you been given a date to go back and see the consultant to discuss the scan?

[annielebois in reply to Bolly]

Hi Bolly, mum has the CT scan this Thursday (15th August) at the QE where her consultant is also based. we are hoping she gets the results pretty quickly so we know whats in store and how we can help her. The hospital have taken her off the transplant list while they look at the tumour and see how big it actually is and if any further damage has been done, they have said she will be placed back on the list as a priority if the growth is only on her liver, our main concern is they have told mum that she will be dealt with by our local hospital if they are unable to do a transplant - although mum thinks they mean she will have the transplant at our local hospital not that they may treat the growth locally - if they can - its all a mine field to us and very scary -

[Bolly in reply to annielebois]

Hi annie. As far as I'm aware liver transplants are only carried out at liver transplant centres, of which the QE Birmingham is one. Yes you are right it is a minefield and a lot of information to take in at a stressful time. Write down as much as you can when you see the consultant (or any other doctor in fact) so you don't forget things which is easy when your head is spinning.

When I was diagnosed with liver cancer I was assigned a Macmillan nurse (this is NOT a palliative nurse but a nurse who is trained to go through the options and information with you in a calm and clear way). While she is 'off' the transplant list, where she is looked after/treated will depend on the treatment options recommended. I had surgery, which meant I was sent to the nearest hospital to me that had a specialist hepatobilliary surgeon. My nearest, local, NHS hospital didn't have a surgeon, so I travelled about 20 miles, but I didn't have to go to a transplant hospital. If the option for your Mum is some type of chemo, then she may be able to have that fairly locally, or may have to go to a specialist cancer centre, i.e in the NorthWest where I am we have the Christie. Surgery is usually only an option if there is a single tumour and its in an operable position, i.e not near critical blood vessels . I think for transplant to be an option with a tumour the criteria is that it's a single tumour that is 5cm or less in size; or two or three tumours that are all smaller than 3cm in size, but it may not be as strict as that everywhere. If the tumour(s) are bigger, then chemo is sometimes used to shrink them.

[annielebois in reply to Bolly]

Hi Bolly, I cant thank you enough for all the information you have given me and for replying to my question. You have given the reassurance i need, many thanks for this

[judyt]

Hi,

It is interesting how different people and practitioners see the same problem in different ways. I have had deranged LFT's for at least 10 years if not more but it was only in the past 18 months that it was discovered that I have Cirrhosis now although I have no other symptoms. I have been seeing a Consultant who is on the transplant team at our local city hospital but I have to pay!!! The hospital don't seem to be interested in me because I have some insurance. Anyway my GP says that means I can choose to see the best, instead of just accepting whoever is rostered on at the hospita,l so I can go along with that. She told me that the biggest risk to me at this stage is that I might get liver cancer but not to worry because it is VERY treatable. I have 3 monthly bloods, 6 monthly scans and I am on Urso of course. I have to accept her felling that the treatment and surveillance are the best that is available so here I am just jogging along and hoping for the best.

[annielebois in reply to judyt]

Thank you judyt, i hope all goes well for you, this website is very informative and the support i have received has been brilliant - i cant thank Bolly or you enough

[Bolly]

Hi judyt

Its because people generally have no or only vague symptoms until the liver is quite badly damaged, that liver disease is called one of the 'silent' killers. You don't say what caused your cirrhosis, but if you have a diagnosis of that and can remove the cause, hopefully your cirrhosis progression can be slowed down or perhaps halted. Once a patient has cirrhosis yes they are at a higher risk of primary liver cancer, and surveillance is the best way to spot it early. Your 3 monthly bloods and 6 monthly scans are within protocol, so your medics are doing the best they can. There are different treatment options for liver cancer, and hopefully Annie's mum will be given one of those options while she hopes to get back on the transplant list. Just a note of caution, treatment is not the same word as cure. I was told surgery or transplant generally offered the only cure, and then 2 1/2 years after my surgery 'cure' a hepatologist from the QE Birmingham cautioned me that there was a 50/50 probability I will get a de-novo cancer somewhere else in my liver.