Hi Wally…. My pancreatic cyst isn't new, but has been there since my first CT ever. I had no clue there was anything going on. It remained stable throughout my melanoma treatments, growing ever so slooooowly AFTER I began Keytruda. While the melanoma has gone away and stayed away, this 1.7 cm "thing" on the tail of my pancreas has decided to camp out in place. I've only had 3 PET's ever since stage IV diagnosis. None of them have shown uptake on the pancreatic tail, so we're assuming cyst. I've done as much googleing as humanly possible, and it seems that they're not as uncommon as one might think. Many of them are quite harmless, unless they grow to a size that becomes uncomfortable within your body cavity. Naturally, needle biopsy would carry certain risk, and surgeries aren't typically recommended unless there is proven malignancy. Sooooooo… for the last 5 years, we've just kind of watched mine camp out there on the tail, doing nothing. Had I not developed stage IV melanoma, I'd never even have known that little bugger was in there. Your chronic pains and that "cyst" on your pancreas could be pancreatitis or something going on with your gallbladder. Try not to worry too much… stress won't help your chest pain. Easier said than done… I totally understand! Reduce or cut out any alcohol intake, try more frequent smaller meals, and avoid fatty foods. If none of that helps… ask them to look into doing a PET… see if that bugger lights up.
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