CT scan results

Hi COLETRAIN121c39c1,

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the online community. My name is Eileen and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can appreciate that when you’re informed by your oncologist that fatty strands and nodes have been seen on your CT scan that this would cause concern, particularly when they are not sure of the significance of this.

It’s not uncommon that issues such as this arise when undertaking routine scans. Sometimes it’s not clear whether the anomalies seen on the scan are benign or something more significant. Fat stranding is a non-specific sign and can be seen in infectious, inflammatory, malignant, or traumatic conditions. Changes in nodes may also be related to inflammatory conditions, scarring or infections. If it is unclear doctors would usually recommend doing a further scan a few months later. This allows them to compare scans and observe whether there has been a change in these areas. If on review, there has been a change in appearance they may undertake further investigations to confirm the nature of these areas.

I know it’s really difficult to cope with uncertainty and if worry and anxiety about this is impacting on you day to day please speak to your Clinical Nurse Specialist or Consultant. There will be support services available that can be accessed via your hospital team and also in your local area.

I hope this information is helpful but if you would like to talk with one of our nurses on the phone in more detail, we would be happy to hear from you. You can call us free of charge on 0808 808 0000 or you can chat to us or email us. We are here every day from 8am to 8pm.

Best wishes,

Eileen

Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

Ref:EM/AP