Pancreatic pseudocyst or cancer?

[sureshot]

Hi, I have been having symptoms of a burning sensation in the stomach and pain radiating to the back for a few months. Having been diagnosed with a H. Pylori infection previously, I went to the doctor who found the blood test for H Pylori to be positive again, so he prescribed the usual Prevpak treatment for 14 days. Things did not get better and after a month or so, I went back to him. He recommended a test for liver function and pancreatic enzymes (amylase, lipase). Turned out that my lipase levels were 1200. He recommended a CT scan. CT scan results just came back - they found a hypodense region 1.8 x 2 cm in the pancreas. Impression is that it is a pseudocyst, but they recommend further imaging, saying there is a "much less likely chance of a cystic neoplasm." I am 45 years old, generally in good shape. There are times when I have drunk more than 5 glasses of wine/beer, but these are usually once or twice a year. I don't drink every day or even every week. Most of my drinking is social, and mostly restricted to red wine.
Should I be worried about the possibility of cancer?

[crambone]

infection or large amounts of white blood cells gathering there,thats usualy about the only reason,and stuff like cancer/lymphoma...stuff like that.

[sureshot]

Thanks, CalGal. I completely understand that I need to get the imaging done to rule out cancer. There is an additional bit of worry - I also appear to have a 10 mm retroperitoneal lymph node. I understand this is the upper limit of normal, but it could be borderline abnormal and indicative of something more serious. Do you or anyone else here know what are the possible causes for this particular node to get enlarged? Would a pseudocyst also cause such enlargement?

[CalGal]

Sureshot, you may want to talk to your doc about seeing if your gallbladder is functioning properly. Gallbladder and pancreatic issues can often be tied together especially if gallbladder stones have irritated the common bile duct causing spasms and a backup of both bile and pancreatic fluids. And you may or may not have LFT elevations.

In addition, once a blood test has found a person to be positive for H. pylori and that person has been treated, it's unwise to use a blood test to subsequently test for H. pylori. You'll remain positive in that test for extended periods of time. A better way to check is to use the breath test.

I doubt there is any way anyone of us could tell you what further testing is going to show. You're going to have to have the scanning done to try to figure out exactly what that hypodense area really is. If you haven't really abused your pancreas over the years, I believe the chances are low that it could be cancer, but there really is no way of prediciting. The radiologist had the best opportunity and 'look' so far, and his/her statement was 'much less likely chance of a cyctic neoplasm,' so I think that wording should help you to feel a bit better as far as 'chances' go.