#they scanned my liver my pancreas my gallbladder my common bile duct and my right(only right??) kidney. all normal.

[orcelito]

Ok wow they came out with the initial results *really* quickly. The lady said it could be a few days??? Anyways, things seem normal from what they've got on this report, tho it's a little funny to have my gallbladder be called "unremarkable" like geeze thanks 😂😂

Also, as a hilarious side effect, I now know the size of my liver. Apparently it's a whole cm and a half smaller than average 😂😂😂

[neelkanthhospital-blog]

What are gallstones and laparoscopic cholecystectomy treatments in Gurgaon?

Gallstones are formed from bile, a material that aids in fat digestion and vitamin absorption. The liver produces bile, which is then transported to the gallbladder, a thin, pear-shaped organ that concentrates and stores it. Food fat induces the release of a hormone, which causes the gallbladder to contract and release bile into the intestine. Call us and schedule your appointment for laparoscopic cholecystectomy treatment in Gurgaon at Neelkanth hospital. Gallstones are solid lumps formed when stored bile crystallizes. Most are less than an inch in diameter, but they can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. The majority of gallstones are made up mostly of cholesterol. The remainder, known as pigment stones, are composed of calcium salts and bilirubin, a byproduct of red blood cell breakdown. Cholesterol stones develop when the gallbladder's liquid bile contains more cholesterol than the bile salts can remove. Cholesterol stones may form if the gallbladder does not contract and empty properly. Pigment stones are linked to a variety of medical conditions, including liver disease, anemia, and bile duct infection.

Why are women at greater risk? It's a product of female hormones. Estrogen raises cholesterol levels in bile, while progesterone delays gallbladder emptying. This could explain why, in comparison to men, the risk for women decreases with age. Women are diagnosed with gallstones almost three times more often than men by the age of 40 (pregnancy, for example, raises the risk), but by the age of 60, their risk is only marginally higher. Estrogen therapy raises the risk, especially when administered as a pill rather than a patch. Oral contraceptives raise the risk marginally as well, but only in the first decade of use. Obesity is another risk factor because fat bodies contain more estrogen. Rapid weight loss, on the other hand, raises the risk that very low-calorie diets interfere with bile development, causing further cholesterol crystallization. Gallstones are so prevalent after weight-loss surgery that patients are often recommended to have their gallbladders removed as well. Gallstones are also more common in people who have diabetes or another disease that impairs gallbladder contractions or intestinal motility, such as a spinal cord injury. Finally, there is some evidence of a hereditary predisposition to gallstone formation. Book your appointment with the best hospital for laparoscopic cholecystectomy treatment in Gurgaon.

What are the signs and symptoms? The majority of people who have gallstones are unaware of their condition. Their gallstones remain silent and can only be detected by chance, such as through an ultrasound or CT scan is done for another cause. Symptoms occur mostly when stones move into or block a bile duct, resulting in biliary colic, also known as a gallbladder assault. These attacks occur when the gallbladder contracts (usually in reaction to a fatty meal) and forces the stones against the gallbladder duct, causing it to become blocked. The main symptom is pain, which normally occurs in the right upper or middle abdomen (just below the rib cage), and which increases in severity within an hour and can last for several hours. It can be painful and knifelike or a deep ache, and it can radiate to the back or right shoulder. Nausea and vomiting are also possible. When the gallbladder relaxes, the pain subsides. A stone stuck in a duct may also cause more severe complications, such as acute cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation), pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation), or cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts in the liver). Any of these conditions can result in excruciating pain and other symptoms such as jaundice, high fever, chills, and vomiting. In most cases, treatment entails intravenous antibiotics and, in some cases, surgical removal of the stone. If you believe you are having a gallbladder attack, your doctor will most likely prescribe some blood tests as well as an abdominal ultrasound (after you fast for at least eight hours). Ultrasound is particularly useful in diagnosing acute cholecystitis since it detects gallbladder wall thickening and signals the presence of fluid, which may indicate inflammation. Other diagnostic techniques include cholescintigraphy, which uses a radioactive injection to see whether the cystic duct is blocked; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the bile ducts; endoscopic ultrasonography, which inserts an ultrasound device through the mouth, esophagus, and stomach to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine) to obtain images of the area.

What is the treatment for gallstones? Gallstones can only be treated if they are causing symptoms. The most common cure for recurring gallbladder attacks is the surgical removal of the gallbladder, also known as cholecystectomy. Previously, the normal treatment required a five-inch incision and a hospital stay of up to a week. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in which the gallbladder is removed using instruments inserted through tiny incisions in the skin, has mostly replaced this approach. This treatment only necessitates an overnight hospital stay and a week of recuperation at home. However, there is a small risk of damaging the bile ducts, and complications may force the surgeon to turn to open surgery with a larger incision in 5% to 10% of cases. You should get by without a gallbladder. Bile is produced by the liver in sufficient quantities to allow for normal digestion. When the gallbladder is removed, the bile simply flows into the small intestine through the normal bile duct. Loose stools can occur when there is no food present, but this can be treated with a bile acid–binding drug, such as cholestyramine.

How can I lower my chances of developing gallstones? There is no proven method for preventing gallstones, although research does point to several possibilities. Consume three well-balanced meals a day, maintain a healthy weight, and engage in frequent physical activity (at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week). Several studies have shown that mild alcohol intake is associated with a lower risk of symptom-causing gallstones. The Nurses' Health Study also discovered that women who consumed more fiber and ate multiple 1-ounce servings of nuts each week were less likely to require gallbladder surgery. While avoiding fatty foods may not prevent or cure gallstones, it can reduce the frequency of attacks. Schedule your appointment and get the affordable cost of laparoscopic cholecystectomy treatment in Gurgaon.

[enzaime-blog]

Successful Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer Inspires Richard Carvajal to Reach Out

New Story has been published on https://enzaime.com/successful-treatment-pancreatic-cancer-inspires-richard-carvajal-reach/

Successful Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer Inspires Richard Carvajal to Reach Out

In August 2014, Richard Carvajal, then 43, was in the best shape of his life. He was excited as he left his home in Bainbridge, Georgia, to compete in his first Olympic-distance triathlon. But as he drove across Alabama on his way to the race site, he started feeling sharp abdominal pain.

“It kept getting worse and worse, and I literally crawled into a Birmingham emergency room,” Richard says.

Although doctors initially thought Richard’s pain was caused by kidney stones, it turned out to be a symptom of a much more difficult problem. Testing eventually revealed Richard had pancreatic cancer.

Working with a care team at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus, Richard underwent surgery and then chemotherapy to fight the disease. It worked. More than two years later, Richard is in remission. And it’s given him a new mission.

“I will never hesitate to recommend to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer to go Mayo Clinic,” Richard says. “I know they will do the absolute best job possible and the research they’re doing has the chance to help many more people to be as lucky and blessed as I have been.”

A shocking diagnosis

 When he first arrived at the hospital in Birmingham in terrible pain, Richard was told by physicians there that he likely had kidney stones. They gave him pain medication and some medicine to help him pass the stones. The pain was so severe that at one point he passed out.

“When I woke up, I immediately felt the pain go down,” Richard says.

A nurse told him it appeared that he had passed the kidney stone. Richard then had a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis. But when the results came in, a doctor informed Richard he had acute pancreatitis and recommended further testing.

Back home in Georgia, Richard — who at the time was president of Bainbridge State College — went to multiple gastroenterology specialists find the cause of the pancreatitis. No one could explain why it happened. They suggested he get follow-up testing in a year. Richard’s primary care doctor, however, recommended he see one more specialist. Richard went to see Bashar Qumseya, M.D., who had moved to Georgia after completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic.

“I will never hesitate to recommend to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer to go Mayo Clinic.” — Richard Carvajal

“I met with Dr. Qumseya, and he explained that there was one more test we could do. The test was an endoscopic ultrasound,” Richard says. “He had learned how to do this test at Mayo Clinic and was the only doctor in the region trained to do it.”

Dr. Qumseya used the test to assess Richard’s pancreas. On Sept. 8, 2014, as he recovered from the procedure, Dr. Qumseya delivered devastating results. Richard had pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most common and lethal type of pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Qumseya immediately made a call to his friend and former colleague John Stauffer, M.D., a pancreatic specialist and surgeon at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus. Two days later, Richard made the three-hour drive from Bainbridge to Jacksonville to meet with Dr. Stauffer.

In the right hands

More than 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. each year. The diagnosis often comes with a poor long-term outlook.

“If it’s detected early, the only chance for a cure for this type of cancer is through surgery such as the Whipple procedure,” Dr. Stauffer says. “Unfortunately, less than half of all patients diagnosed are operable, because it’s often detected at an advanced stage due to an absence of symptoms.”

An MRI showed that Richard’s tumor was contained within the pancreas and had not spread to his liver or lungs. Due to the location of the tumor in the head of the pancreas, Richard was a good candidate for the Whipple procedure, where the doctors would remove the head of the pancreas, duodenum and gallbladder, followed by a complex reconstruction. The surgery was scheduled for Sept. 18.

“We offer coordinated multidisciplinary care with a team of excellent radiologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists and surgeons. We have a very tight-knit pancreatic cancer focused team with excellent surgical outcomes.” — Dr. John Stauffer

“We are one of the highest volume centers in the southeast for the Whipple,” Dr. Stauffer says. “We offer coordinated multidisciplinary care with a team of excellent radiologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists and surgeons. We have a very tight-knit pancreatic cancer focused team with excellent surgical outcomes.”

In addition to the team’s expertise and skill, Richard also appreciated Dr. Stauffer’s approachability.

“Dr. Stauffer is down to earth. He’s real. It’s like talking to a friend,” Richard says. “I trusted that I was getting straight answers from him. He and his whole team have been so supportive.”

Treatment success

When Dr. Stauffer and his team performed Richard’s surgery, they initially did an exploration to exclude the possibility that the cancer had spread. The cancer appeared to be contained within the head of the pancreas, so the surgical team removed the front half of the pancreas and duodenum as planned. They then connected the bowel back to the bile ducts, the remaining pancreas, and the stomach.

Richard spent five days in the hospital, and then went home to await the pathology results for the portion of the pancreas and 39 lymph nodes that had been removed for testing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got the results. The entire tumor had been removed during the surgery, and there was no cancer in the lymph nodes.

Because pancreatic cancer is very aggressive, though, Richard still needed six months of chemotherapy to kill any cancer cells that might have remained in his body. Working with his team at Mayo Clinic, Richard opted to receive the treatment at a cancer center not far from his home.

“Dr. Stauffer is down to earth. He’s real. It’s like talking to a friend,” says Richard. “I trusted that I was getting straight answers from him. He and his whole team have been so supportive.” — Richard Carvajal

Richard recalls the local oncologist telling him, “Richard, you didn’t just get referred to any surgeon. You got referred to the best in the world for what you needed. And by the way, he did one hell of a job.”

From October 2014 to March 2015, Richard had 18 chemotherapy treatments.

“While it was exceptionally difficult, I was fortunate in that my body stayed strong enough to handle the treatments,” he says. “I got through chemo, and my oncologist told me I was cured. I lost 25 pounds, but I decided to start trying to recover in the best way I knew how. I started working out.”

A year to the day from that first trip through Alabama in 2014, Richard completed the Olympic triathlon he had set out to do before he received his cancer diagnosis.

“It felt good to cross that finish line and to know I had been blessed by what had happened,” he says.

A new perspective

Not surprisingly, going through cancer surgery and treatment has given Richard a new perspective on life.

“It’s crystallized what’s important to me. So, I try to make sure the time I have with my family counts,” he says. “In many ways my story is about meaningful change that manifests itself in subtle ways. The little things that matter — family dinner time, clothes shopping with my daughter. It’s those things we all do as parents, as spouses, as friends that we all know we can do better.”

Richard is also making every day matter at work. Eight months after completing chemotherapy, he was selected as the interim president of Darton State College in Albany, Georgia, to help lead the consolidation of that traditionally white college with a historically black university located nearby.

“We are creating something here that will change a region of our state for generations to come,” Richard says.

Sharing his story

Richard has been cancer-free since 2014. He returns to Mayo Clinic every six months for an MRI to make sure he is still in remission. This year, Dr. Stauffer asked Richard to time his scan with the PurpleStride race, which was established to fight pancreatic cancer.

“I was honored to participate because it’s a great way to raise money and increase awareness about pancreatic cancer, and hopefully inspire others who are going through this terrible disease,” he says.

Every time I see Dr. Stauffer I thank him for saving my life. I want to be his longest survivor. I want him to use my story to give hope to other survivors.” — Richard Carvajal

Richard shares his experience with everyone he can. He gives speeches to public groups. He also visits with people who have been newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He’s always quick to praise Mayo Clinic.

“I sent a letter to the CEO of the Mayo Clinic [John Noseworthy, M.D.] after my surgery to say how incredibly impressed I was with every experience I had at Mayo, and to tell him and his staff that the level of customer service I received was extraordinary,” Richard says. “Every time I see Dr. Stauffer I thank him for saving my life. I want to be his longest survivor. I want him to use my story to give hope to other survivors.”