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What is above our left kidney? My 45 yr old female cousin ...

Sent to Health Experts September 11 01:11 PM

What is above our left kidney? My 45 yr old female cousin is in hospital now being told that a "lymph node looking" mass is above her left kidney. Also, a half-inch mass on her liver shows it is cancer that "didn't start in the liver". Can you explain this better? Family is confused! Thank you in advance! P.S.- They are inserting a "port" today for future chemo, so cancer is diagnosis.

 

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Female, Age: 49, New Jersey

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September 11 1:25 PM (14 minutes and 14 seconds later)
         
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Greetings,

The adrenal gland sits just above the kidney as do several lymph nodes. Adrenal glands normally secrete hormones (cortisol, aldosterone, adrenaline and others) but can occasionally have cancers that form inside them. It sounds like the "lymph node looking mass" above the kidney may in fact be just that, a lymph node and not the adrenal gland. The best way to diagnose cancers is with tissue sampling (biopsy) which will tell you not only the type of cancer but also the treatment required and the staging (prognosis). The mass in the liver may be a metastasis which means that the cancer has spread to that organ. Some forms of cancer have a tendency to spread through the blood or lymph drainage into other organs. Usually, but not always, metastasis is a sign of advanced stage. Common cancers that metastasize to the liver include: lung, colon, stomach, pancreas and breast.

I hope this helps,

Sincerely,

Dr.Bernon


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