Major 'wake up' scare...

[2savage]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'.

So, live life NOW while it still exists for you. Bad health has wrecked more cruising plans than reefs or rocks.

 

[Hyperion]

Huzza! I tell people who are on the fence of big life cruising plans to "get their ducks in a row. If any don't line up, shoot them and leave them behind on the dock"

 

[Don L]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'.

WOW did they get ahead of themselves in providing the maximum scare to you

glad it wasn't as bad

 

[PhilPB]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'.

So, live life NOW while it still exists for you. Bad health has wrecked more cruising plans than reefs or rocks.

That is fantastic news. Glad to hear. Something like that is very unnerving.
Luckily for me at this time of life all of fatty tissue is between my ears!
We must enjoy life while we can. Life can always throw us a curveball.

 

[kthoennes]

Boy that's a relief. An experience like that can sure change your perspective. We just watched "All is Lost" on the boat this weekend. Of course even my young teenager sons were yelling at the TV about his actions and choices, it's an annoying frustration movie for anybody who knows boats, but it did get me thinking about passing time and getting out there. Our five year -- yikes, now four year plan is to get the boat delivered to Duluth after the boys' high school graduation and sail away, but I already know it's going to take a titanic act of will and great resolve to make it happen. If they even still want to go by then.

Every day is a gift.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Best hospital stay ever!

 

[Simi 60]

I can hear the sigh of relief from the other side of the planet.

Now fill the tanks up and go.

 

[Mambo42]

Those scares do get your attention and make you realize that, at our age, delaying plans is not the best option. We don't know how many more years we still have, so instead of postponing everything I guess it gets to the point where you just have to do what you always dreamed of doing.
We quit our jobs last year, now cruising the Med, don't even know what day of the week it is anymore. Still have my pains, still not feeling well, but hope I will last a few more years before I have to say goodbye to being out on the water. Can advise everyone to do the same. Live your life like there is no tomorrow.

 

[Don L]

took years for me not to think about my heart attack pretty much all the time

that was 11 years ago so sometimes life continues

 

[porman]

Had a friend that was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. On the day he entered the hospital for treatment they revised it to (only) lymphoma. He beat it and the next year sold everything and headed out on his sailboat around the world. It took a few years but he did it and now lives on the beach in Mexico.

 

[BruceK]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'...

Huge relief! Was the actual diagnosis "lipoma"?

 

[PM]

Great news for you, however... Fatty Liver disease generally has its roots in alcohol abuse, not always but often. It might be time to review your drinking habits.

pete

 

[LargeMarge]

Great news for you, however... Fatty Liver disease generally has its roots in alcohol abuse, not always but often. It might be time to review your drinking habits.

pete

.
Fatty liver can occur from more sugars than your particular liver can handle.
Alcohol is merely one type of sugar.
Grains, fruits, seed oils, root vegetables, etcetera are all sugars.
Dietary proteins, exceeding your particular body's needs, are stored as sugars.
.
Your labs probably show an abundance of enzymes, indicative of a leaking liver.
That can be a precursor -- or can occur simultaneously -- to liver disease.
.
A few decades ago, my labs showed liver enzymes.
I immediately switched my diet to Paleo Keto.
.
Epigenetics -- change your body by modifying your environment:
* diet,
* exercise,
* meditation,
* and eliminating stress.
.
.
An aside:
Our livers have many thousands of functions, mostly unmapped.

 

[Kintala]

So, live life NOW while it still exists for you. Bad health has wrecked more cruising plans than reefs or rocks.

My husband just had a cardiac arrest on the boat. Fortunately we were on the dock and were able to call 911 and get him to the ER where they installed a pacemaker. You're absolutely correct - do it now because we only have this moment. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year.

So glad your diagnosis was benign.

 

[Takoradi]

Excellent place for my annual PSA on PSA's. GET your prostate specific antigen (PSA) test done annually. I have been doing them since my mid 40's, caught prostate cancer early 15 years later. Had radical prostatectomy and as my urologist quipped, I hit the trifecta. Everything works, I'm not incontinent and I'm cancer free. Perhaps not everyone will be as lucky, but just as women can't ignore breast cancer screening, men can't ignore prostate testing just because it's scary. Our health is worth it guys. We're worth it.

Tak

 

[Offshore]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'.

So, live life NOW while it still exists for you. Bad health has wrecked more cruising plans than reefs or rocks.

Make SURE you get second and third opinion.
Lots of missed diagnosis.

 

[proudsailor]

For us, it's finding the boat! WE'RE READY!!!! But yep- you never know. I'm a nurse and see these premature endings way more than anyone would want. My neighbor just got back from a sibling-in-law wake- 39!

Glad it was a false alarm. Get out on the water now!

 

[Iggy]

I just spent six days in hospital with suspected cancer of the liver. Today after all the tests were complete the diagnosis was 'no cancer, just fatty tissue'.

So, live life NOW while it still exists for you. Bad health has wrecked more cruising plans than reefs or rocks.

Yep! We just bought a new inflatable. We went to a boat show and for 2 months bantered back and forth with my wife on buying it. Did we really need one no! Would it make life easier, yes!

We both said YES, in church at our friends funeral Mass. Life is short and you can't take it with you!

 

[Dwk]

Ain’t that true

“We both said YES, in church at our friends funeral Mass. Life is short and you can't take it with you!”;
WOW, I recently had the same thought witn a different purchase. Our RIP would have agreed not to wait and enjoy!

 

[Simi 60]

Great news for you, however... Fatty Liver disease generally has its roots in alcohol abuse, not always but often. It might be time to review your drinking habits.

pete

I gave up cigarettes, fumes from welding, fiberglass dust, swimming in epoxy resins, thinners and two pack paints and a stressful work life

Instead I chose to abuse single malt whiskey, black strap rum and Heathcote shiraz whilst cruising Queensland and Great Barrier Reef waters with my champagne drinking lovely.

I feel we've made the better choice.

 

[quinsky]

COVID was the event that convinced my wife and I to get the big boat now instead of waiting. We had a 34ft trawler that we planned on keeping for 5-7 years before retiring and getting a larger boat. We are both medical professionals so when COVID hit we decided to move up our plan. We retired early and bought a 50ft trawler. A few months later I discovered a lump in my armpit which turned out to be cancer. They weren't sure what type so I had my lymph nodes removed and underwent radiation. Supposedly the surgery was successful in removing all the cancer but 18 mos later I discovered another lump further up in the base of my neck. Again they couldn't determine for certain what type of cancer it was other than being malignant. So I had more surgery and was told there was no more cancer they could find.

Oh, and my wife is a two time breast cancer survivor.

My last surgery was 18 mos ago and we are cruising on our boat for the summer, enjoying every minute. We are both followed closely by our oncologists and are cancer free. We try to focus on today and live in such a way that when the time comes we will have no regrets.

We are extremely blessed to be able to do this and we remind ourselves of this every day.

 

[Hippocampus]

Every test is judged by several parameters
Sensitivity. % of people with X who test positive on your test for the thing you’re testing for.
Specificity. % who test positive who actually have the thing you’re testing for.
False negatives. Have it but test negative.
False positive. Don’t have it but test positive.

This is true for any test be it imaging, bloodwork, pathology nerve conductions, EEG or ECG . Anything.

In all of these tests to date there’s a human component. Might just be who set up the machine or protocol. Once there’s a human involved there’s the possibility of human error. For imaging it’s a major potential issue. So much work has occurred to decrease human input. It gotten to the point that humans can’t compete with AI on such tasks. Enough studies now exist showing AI reads have fewer false positives (what happened to the OP) and fewer false negatives.
Still although we can expect AI to more commonly read images there’s still some room for radiologists beyond interventional radiology. As science moves along you will always have people who have new presentations of old known diseases, new diseases, new normal variants, new artifacts. Just like computers in general GIGO applies to AI. So AI will miss stuff and databases and algorithms reworked.
Still fatty liver is a common finding. Hepatoma is fortunately more unlikely. In formal thinking OP test was read at high sensitivity but low specificity. As time goes on think this will occur less,and less