Dr says CT came back with abnormal bowel and liver, could this be cancer?
My 84 year old grandfather just had a CT scan. He received a call from his doctor saying that they found something abnormal in his bowel and liver. His appointment is a week away. What are the chances this is cancer? What other things could this be?
Tagged with: appointment • cancer • ct scan • liver
Filed under: Bowels
Sure a CT can show all of those things on starlight’s list, but what does it have to do with your grandfather? None of them explain the findings.
It’s hard to answer your question without knowing what was found and that comes from the report. “Abnormal” doesn’t indicate anything but more tests. When was your grandfather’s last colonoscopy? Was it normal? What symptoms lead to his having the CT? Did he have any lab work? Has he had any surgeries in the past? These are other things that need to be answered in order to give you a meaningful answer.
It is possible the findings in the colon and the liver are independent and not very serious, but colon cancer often presents this way. Without having more information it is not possible to tell you what the chances are either way.
It could be many things so don’t think the worse!
What Abnormal Results Mean
The CT scan may show the following:
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Abscesses
Acute bilateral obstructive uropathy
Acute cholecystitis
Acute unilateral obstructive uropathy
Addison’s disease
Amebic liver abscess
Appendicitis
Bilateral hydronephrosis
Bowel wall thickening
Carcinoma of the renal pelvis or ureter
Cholangiocarcinoma
Choledocholithiasis
Cholelithiasis
Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy
Chronic cholecystitis
Chronic pancreatitis
Chronic unilateral obstructive uropathy
Complicated UTI (pyelonephritis)
Cystinuria
Cysts
Echinococcus
Enlarged lymph nodes
Enlarged organs
Gastrointestinal or bowel obstruction
Glucagonoma
Hairy cell leukemia
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Histoplasmosis; disseminated
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Islet of Langerhans’ tumor
Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) II
Nephrocalcinosis
Nephrolithiasis
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Ovarian cancer
Pancreatic abscess
Pancreatic carcinoma
Pancreatic pseudocyst
Pancreatitis
Pheochromocytoma
Primary hyperaldosteronism
Pyelonephritis - acute
Pyogenic liver abscess
Renal cell carcinoma
Retroperitoneal fibrosis
Sclerosing cholangitis
Stones (bladder, kidney, liver, gall bladder)
Testicular cancer
Tumors
Unilateral hydronephrosis
Ureterocele
Wilms’ tumor
Wilson’s disease
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Additional conditions under which the test may be performed include the following:
Acute renal failure
Alcoholic liver disease (hepatitis/cirrhosis)
Atheroembolic renal disease
Chronic glomerulonephritis
Chronic renal failure
Cushing syndrome
Cushing syndrome caused by adrenal tumor
Injury of the kidney and ureter
Medullary cystic kidney disease
Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) I
Polycystic kidney disease
Reflux nephropathy
Renal artery stenosis
Renal vein thrombosis
Skin lesion of histoplasmosis