Can anyone advise. My mum has been told by her GP after CT scan that she has a 1cm cancerous tumour in the head of her pancreas. It has not spread and all bloods are normal with slight anemia and CRP slightly raised. We are devastated to say the least. She will see specialist on Monday (2wks) later. But how does GP know it's cancer her systoms were pain and swelling under rib cage. No jaundice. Please anyone else does this would familiar ??
I just wondered had any one else been told this even though there hadn't been a biopsy yet how would GP know if cancerous or benign ?? Or am I being naive?
Well the only way yo truly verify if its cancer or not would be with a biopsy anything else would be a just a guess.
Pretty sad if the gp diagnosed cancer without verifying thru biopsy first, it could be just a cyst.
God bless your mom and have high hopes until its been truly verified.
Check this out maddie.
If imaging studies detect a mass in the pancreas, a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is likely, but not definite. Only a biopsy -- taking actual tissue from the mass -- can diagnose pancreatic cancer. Biopsies can be performed in several ways:
Percutaneous needle biopsy: Under imaging guidance, a radiologist inserts a needle into the mass, capturing some tissue. This procedure is also called a fine needle aspiration (FNA).
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): A flexible tube with a camera and other tools on its end (endoscope) is put through the mouth to the small intestine, near the pancreas. ERCP can collect images from the area, as well as take a small biopsy with a brush.
Endoscopic ultrasound: Similar to ERCP, an endoscope is placed near the pancreas. An ultrasound probe on the endoscope locates the mass, and a needle on the endoscope plucks some tissue from the mass.
Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure that uses several small incisions. Using laparoscopy, a surgeon can collect tissue for biopsy, as well as see inside the abdomen to determine if pancreatic cancer has spread. However, laparoscopy has higher risks than other biopsy approaches.
If pancreatic cancer seems very likely, and the tumor appears removable by surgery, doctors may recommend surgery without a biopsy.
Thankyou Henry that's what I was hoping someone would say. It's been such a shock that doctor would say the C word without biopsy especially when no spreading and blood works normal. Thankyou got getting back to me.